Sonny Gets A Bit Homesick. Awww.
Just when you thought all the drama surrounding Sonny Bill Williams was over...
Sonny recently injured his leg, and has had some down time while he recovers - and this has no doubt added to his homesickness.
Moving to France was never going to be easy for Sonny, especially when you consider everything that he left behind in Australia. His friends and family are in Australia and New Zealand, and for him to suddenly leave all that behind, and move to the other side of the world - well, it was inevitable that he would struggle with homesickness.
Apparently, someone close to Sonny has approached the Bulldogs, while Khoder Nasser has flown to France to check up on Sonny's welfare. You can bet he won't be happy to see Sonny return to the Bulldogs if it means taking a pay cut.
The Bulldogs have stated that they will only be interested in talking to Sonny if he returns on "bended knee", and "under the club's terms and conditions". In other words, things wont be as cushy for Sonny as they were before.
The biggest problem is that the Bulldogs have made a lot of signings since Sonny departed the club, and so they may not have the funds to resign him - and that may bring a halt to him returning (as part of the settlement, Sonny cannot return to any other club until 2013).
It's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out - just don't expect it to go smoothly.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 | 0 Comments
Sonny Bill In The Clear
The Sonny Bill Williams saga is finally over, with the Bulldogs club and Williams' management coming to an agreement that will allow Williams to pursue his rugby aspirations.
Sonny's close friend and former St George star, Anthony Mundine, has come forward to pay the Bulldogs club around $750,000 of his own money to buy out Sonny's contract.
Now Sonny can focus on playing for Toulon for the next couple of years, and if all goes well an All Blacks jersey may be on the horizon.
If his first game for Toulon is anything to go by, he could become a very dominant figure in rugby union - although he may want to stop shoulder charging.
The NZRU have said that they will be interested in talking to anyone playing overseas when their contracts expire, and that includes Sonny Bill.
If that's the case, Sonny could be playing in the Super 14 by 2010.
Unfortunately for league fans, Sonny's league playing days are over - at least until 2012, which is part of the deal made by his management team and the Bulldogs CEO's.
But according to Sonny, he no longer wants to play league, and his entire focus is on making the All Blacks.
It's great that everything has been resolved, although it doesn't seem like Sonny will have learned anything from the whole ordeal - in which case, what will stop him from walking out on another contract if he's not happy?
Especially when you've got rich friends who will bail you out...
If he's serious about playing for the All Blacks, he really needs to be playing in New Zealand as soon as possible - because we play a completely different style of rugby than the French.
For now, though, it's great to know that everything has been sorted out.
Thanks, Anthony Mundine.
We'll leave you with a tribute to Sonny, playing for his old Bulldogs club - enjoy.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 | 0 Comments
Off To Toulon, Eh Sonny?
It's official - Sonny Bill Williams has signed a one year deal with Toulon, and could be playing his first game of rugby as early as this Saturday.
That is, if the Bulldogs aren't successful in blocking him with a court injuncture.
But, all the dramas aside, we want to hear from Williams himself as to why he quit the NRL - because, quite frankly, we're sick of hearing why from everyone else. No one seems to be giving us the facts, and all the fans want to know is WHY he left.
The time has come for Williams to man up and speak for himself, rather than getting people to talk for him.
If indeed Williams does want to play for the All Blacks, then why the hell did he sign with a French club?
It doesn't make sense.
To play for the All Blacks, you have to play in New Zealand - not France.
There would have been plenty of New Zealand clubs happy to sign a guy like Williams...
Therefore, we can only conclude that he has gone to France because of the money. If an All Black jersey means that much to him, he'd have signed with the NZRU.
But, to be fair to Williams, we believe that he is probably under a great deal of pressure - and probably not getting the best advice from those around him.
His managers make more money when he makes more money, so they would have been more than happy to see him leave for France.
Whatever the outcome of this saga is, we fell that it could have all been avoided had Williams taken the proper measures to leave the Bulldogs, rather than just up-and-leaving like he did.
What he did to his Bulldogs team mates is not right - for everything they've been through together, the Bulldogs deserved better.
So come on Sonny - time to speak up, and tell your fans why. We just want to know why.
And, we hope some good can come out of all of this drama.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008 | 0 Comments