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Who is Sonny Bill Williams

If you really want to know who Sonny Bill Williams is, then just ask his old mate – MARCUS Perenara. So Marcus, “Who is Sonny Bill Williams?

I have known and played Sonny Bill Williams more times than anyone else in the world. Which may explain why I am now selling jeans for a living.

“Yeah, my body is wrecked,” Perenara laughs.

“But don’t say I’m taking a year off because of Sonny … we don’t want him thinking he was that big in Auckland.”

Working retail for General Pants Co. in Brisbane, Perenara, 21, is the man to interview when unravelling the human headline that is Sonny Bill Williams.

These two Kiwis, cousins no less, have been bashing, bruising and bunking down at each other’s houses since the age of seven years. When together, they were the hottest young prospects in Auckland.

Back then, Perenara was ranked No.1. Williams No.2.

So if anyone knows a weakness to this hulking Bulldogs phenomenon, surely he’s standing among the Ben Shermans and Havaianas.

“Mate, if I was better than Sonny it wasn’t for long,” the salesman smiles.

“Because at 13, he shot up. It was scary, actually. He exploded past every other kid in Auckland.”

And now it’s happening again.

Sonny Bill Williams – footballer, superstar, SBW Inc – is finally tearing into the NRL with the determination, flair and grit that has long seen him tagged New Zealand’s best export since Footrot Flats.

Gone are the question marks and uncertainty. Those whispers of being overrated. Even the Wikipedia boffins can erase “yet to live up to the hype” from his website profile.

Yep, SBW has finally arrived. And every player, coach, statistician, groupie, fan, referee, journalist and ball boy wants to know his secrets.

But with Williams shunning all interviews this week, we were forced to scour three states, two countries and the entire Perenara clan to uncover the mysteries of this unique Kiwi.

We’ve interviewed coaches, conditioners, and Bulldogs greats. Maoris, mates and medical experts. Even the retiree switching on the floodlights at Williams’ss old Auckland stomping ground has been given a run.

“You know Roy Asotasi is ours too, don’t you?” boasts Ross Lipscombe, the bloke overseeing lights, jerseys, oranges and everything else at Marist Saints.

“So we’ve got the best prop and … well, the best at whatever position Sonny chooses to play.”

Nobody doubts Williams is now the most feared footballer in the NRL. In attack, think Arthur Beetson with a six pack. In defence, Mark Geyer with tribal tattoos.

Williams boasts most offloads. Most tries for a forward. A 102kg freak setting records for shoulder charges, miracle plays, even signatures signed if only someone kept count.

“Sonny is a playmaker, a gamebreaker,” Bulldogs legend Steve Mortimer says.

“For so long that role was for halves, maybe hookers, but never back rowers.

“But this kid is something else. Blessed. The way he finds space for others. Mate, few footballers have that ability.”

Never in Williams’ short career have the planets aligned so perfectly as they are right now.

Gone are the ankle and shoulder injuries of 2004. The ankle and knee dramas of 2005. Even the stress fractures in both feet that sidelined him for a month last year.

Since round seven, Williams has missed just one game. Not exactly a stat to give guru Dave Middleton palpitations … but important if you’re a footballer whoserecord for consecutive matches is 15. Game time, you see, is soaking Sonny in confidence. In belief. Lifting him into a zone where, Bulldogs hard man Geoff Robinson insists: “You feel bulletproof … could walk on water if someone asked.”

“Being on the end of a Sonny shoulder … it’s massive,” concedes Penrith prop Joel Clinton. “Since it happened, I’ve been trying hard to forget.”

Close mates also insist that Williams is finally comfortable in his own skin.

First, Sonny turned 22 – that magic age at which the human body is said to finally mature – this month, immediately freeing him from the constant niggles and growing pains that hamper a kid adding 2kg every year since SG Ball.

And talk about a temple.

Herculean physique. Check . Hands like gimmicky inflatables. Check . Quickest Dog over the all-important 10 metres. Check . Even boasts what Australia legend Laurie Daley has described as “great footy smarts”.

No wonder New Zealand Warriors assistant coach John Ackland shudders every time his mobile phone rings.

“How many calls have I taken on Sonny?” the former scout who gift-wrapped Williams for the Bulldogs laughs.

“But what can I say? It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Changes are also now occurring inside Sonny. According to Mortimer, “the body has grown up and so has he”.

“People seem to forget Sonny was the lowest-paid player when the Bulldogs won their premiership in 2004,” former Bulldogs recruiter Mark Hughes explains.

“And that, within months, he was suddenly their highest.

“So it was all too much, too quick. I mean, if someone was suddenly willing to pay you six times more to do the same job, would you act any differently?”

And so we roll out the headlines …

A quick Google search on Williams produces almost two million hits. More than 3000 news yarns. Yet the man himself remains something of a conundrum.

This, after all, is the modest, family boy who was photographed in a pub toilet with ironwoman Candice Falzon.

A bloke who confesses to “drinking problems” while boasting the work ethic of a teetotaller.

Even cops fines for bad behaviour while raising bucketloads for hospitals, charities and as an ambassador for meningococcal research.

Last month, Williams smashed an intrusive photographer’s $15,000 camera, was caught speeding in a school zone, got busted urinating in a side street, and had his prized $100,000 BMW taken away by sponsors.

And still the fan mail piled up at Bulldogs club headquarters.

“Sonny certainly isn’t smashing all cameras,” writes Alana Pasquale, 12, “because he let my friends and I take a heap of shots on our mobiles at Miranda Fair. “

“Sonny summed himself up on that night of the 2004 grand final,” says cousin Henry Perenara, now with the Sharks. “When he walked into this packed nightclub, everyone was grabbing at him, yelling at him – there was chaos.

“I just pushed across the room, said ‘Congratulations cuz’, and went back to a corner with my mates. And five minutes later, Sonny was right there beside me … he just smiled and said, ‘It’s all too much’.”

And what of his other cousin, Marcus, up there in Brisbane?

Well, having led Parramatta to the 2006 Premier League title, the playmaker is taking a year off to rest a body “battered” from playing Bartercard Cup, the New Zealand domestic competition, since his early teens.

“I’ve had two shoulder reconstructions, reconstructions on both wrists, but I’ll be back,” he says.

“And as for Sonny in the NRL … mate, I think it could be like Auckland all over again.”

Sonny Bill Williams BAN?

THE NRL could still keep a black ban in place for fallen star Sonny Bill Williams to prevent him lacing on the Rugby League boots ever again.

Bulldogs and Sonny Bill Williams’s legal reps are however getting closer to finalising a settlement – and the club wants a $750,000 payout to be passed on in full today – NRL CEO David Gallop yesterday said the league would still consider placing a life-time sanction on Williams for abandoning the game.

“It is a hypothetical question for the future,” Gallop said. “First, he would need a club to be interested in him and wanting to take him on.

“Second, it’s one thing for him to get out of his contract with the Bulldogs but the fact is he’s left a lot of people in the game disillusioned by his actions. I don’t think there are strong prospects of him being welcomed back to the game.”

The NRL is keen to maintain a hardline stance on Williams after the Bulldogs verbally agreed to a financial settlement negotiated by former ALP powerbroker Graham Richardson on Friday night.

One of the club’s stipulations was that Williams could not play for another NRL team until the end of the five-year contact he broke, which was due to expire in 2012.

The Bulldogs also want payment made in full sometime today before it withdraws the injunction preventing their former superstar playing for French rugby side Toulon.

Williams is likely to finalise the matter sooner than later so he can play for his new side in a trial match on Wednesday.

“We hope that the matter will be resolved tomorrow,” Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said. “We want payment in full. The ball is in their court.”

Gallop admitted the NRL had asked for Williams to public apology for walking out on the game – something Williams flatly rejected. “Yes, that was one of the issues that was raised,” Gallop said. “We are still waiting on some of the details of the agreement.”

Meanwhile, the NRL’s match review committee will seek to obtain more video angles of the tackle by Warriors fullback Wade McKinnon on Cronulla hooker Isaac De Gois before deciding whether to lay a charge over the incident in Saturday night’s game at MtSmart Stadium.

McKinnon hit De Gois with a shoulder charge in the sixth minute. De Gois had just passed the ball, but while the tackle is unlikely to be considered late, McKinnon is at risk of being charged with a high tackle because De Gois was left dazed and needing treatment to keep playing.

Bulldogs doing deal with Toulon

FORMER Labor party senator Graham Richardson is the secret powerbroker behind a $750,000 compensation payment to the Bulldogs for the release of Sonny Bill Williams to play rugby union in France.

It has been revealed that Richardson negotiated the settlement late Fridaynight as the intermediary in talks between the Bulldogs and Toulon.

A guarded Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg said he was hopeful of finalising the settlement over the weekend. The ex-Senator initiated negotiations on Thursday night when he phoned Greenberg and chairman George Peponis.

Greenberg spoke with Richardson at regular intervals yesterday, following Williams’ decision to comply with the NSW Supreme Court injunction and sit out his rugby club’s recent trial match.

The backdown represented a clear victory for the NRL and the Bulldogs.

It illustrated Williams and his advisors did not want to risk jail in Australia or seizure of their assets by breaching the Court’s order. Sydney-based Richardson, a famed Labor numbers man, was being used to relay information from France to the Bulldogs.

Negotiations gained pace on Fridaynight with Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal issuing veiled threats against the Bulldogs to speed up a settlement.

Boudjellal warned of “very bad consequences for the Bulldogs and (NRL)” if a deal was not reached to allow Williams to legally play – a remark interpreted by Greenberg as a threat to make accusations about the club’s compliance with the salary cap.

“We’ll say no more today about the way Sonny Bill got on with the Bulldogs or about the way the club was managed from the inside because negotiations are under way,” Boudjellal said.

“We are hoping for a positive issue because, if not, there are a lot of things that can come out into the open and have very bad consequences for the Bulldogs and (NRL).”

The tough-talking Frenchman has also threatened to sue the Bulldogs for “moral harassment” under French law in relation to their attempts to serve Williams with court documents.

Greenberg shrugged off Boudjellal’s blackmail attempt, insisting the club has “nothing to hide” about its salary cap position.

“The Bulldogs have been honest, open and transparent in these discussions with Sonny Bill Williams and his management,” Greenberg said.

The club wanted a sizeable payout based on the formula of Barcalys Premier League transfers, particularly given its multi-headed claim for damages against Williams.

League boss David Gallop said he was pleased that the parties seemed to be close to settling.

“It’s not ideal but the big issue for us was obtaining the injunction and the fact that he complied with it by not playing then entering into negotiations with the Bulldogs.

“It’s a substantial sum but it was never going to finish completely satisfactorily.

“Walking out mid-contract is still a shock to most people in the game.”

Sonny Bill Served Legal Papers

SONNY Bill Williams has been served legal documents outlining the NSW Supreme Court injunction that bans him from playing another rugby union match in France.

The defecting former NRL rugby league star hid from legal paper serving staff in the lead-up to his debut with the Toulon club on Friday night but was confronted after the game.

NRL lawyer Tony O’Reilly said he had received initial information that Williams was intercepted but refused the documents when they were extended to him.

O’Reilly said the NSW Supreme Court would be informed of the circumstances and he expects the court to accept that Williams was properly served.

“We would expect him to abide by it once he’s properly served and he was, we believe, after the game,” O’Reilly said.

“He didn’t accept the documents that were tried to be handed to him so we may have to approach the court to confirm that they’re happy with it.

“Otherwise, if someone didn’t want to be served, you’d never be able to serve them.”

O’Reilly said the NRL will receive a full report on Monday of Williams being served.

The 23-year-old left Australia without warning two weeks ago, just one year into his five-year deal with the Bulldogs to accept a more lucrative deal with Toulon.

O’Reilly assumed Williams and the club knew the injunction had been granted and attempts would be made to serve Williams the court documents.

Williams did not travel on the team bus, he did not warm up on the field with the team and when he eventually did step on to the playing field he did so from the dressing room, Mr O’Reilly noted.

“The way they conducted themselves was consistent with him and the club having knowledge of the order,” O’Reilly said.

“If he plays again then we will obviously be informing the court and then it’s a matter for the court to decide what it does in those circumstances.”

Sonny Bill Williams burns Steve Folkes

Boxer Anthony Mundine has arrived in the south of France to help runaway Bulldogs NRL star Sonny Bill Williams settle into his new rugby union career.

Mundine watched his mate go through his paces during an afternoon training session with his new teammates at Rugby Club Toulon.

After about two hours sweating it out on the field in blistering conditions, the 23-year-old New Zealand international left the training ground with Mundine in a club car.

Hundreds of fans turned up to catch a glimpse of Toulon’s controversial new recruit, who happily signed autographs and posed for pictures before saying “au revoir” in his best French.

Williams ignored questions from waiting reporters, while Mundine was tight-lipped about his reasons for visiting his friend on the Cote d’Azur.

The boxer, who like Williams used to play rugby league before switching sports and has publicly supported his decision to flee the NRL and Bulldogs, said he planned to spend at least a few days in France.

When asked if he would attend the Top 14 club’s first pre-season friendly match tomorrow, Mundine said “probably”.

The Muslim boxer is believed to be one of the few people who knew about Williams’ decision to walk out on the Bulldogs last month despite being just one year into his five-year contract with the Sydney club.

And in his first interview since fleeing Australia, Williams has revealed that one of his reasons for leaving was because of how his former coach Steve Folkes questioned his friendship with Mundine.

“I rock up to training and Folkesy, Steve Folkes, someone, that to be honest, has never paid any interest in my personal life, he comes up to me and starts saying: `You’re not turning Muslim are you?’,” Williams told Channel Nine’s Footy Show, according to extracts published in News Limited newspapers.

“I just laughed. I said: `Seriously you are joking.’ And then he has a go at Anthony: `You’re kidding yourself if you take advice off him.’,

All the more important at a time when the Bulldogs NRL Results were at all time lows, the once proud club sitting 2nd last on the NRL Table.

“I start to think: `Who is he to question my friends?’”

It is not yet known whether Williams will play in tomorrow’s match against third division team Hyeres, with team officials expected to make a decision later today (AEST).

Toulon’s team manager Tom Whitford said while Williams still had to master the finer points of rugby, he had made a good initial impression and could have a role as an outside centre or on the wing.

“We’re hoping that he will play,” Whitford told AAP.

“We’ll make a decision probably tomorrow, not just for him but for everybody who’s going to play.

“We’re going to try to get as many people to play as possible. It’s a good opportunity to give everybody a go to see what they’re worth.”

Whitford said neither he nor his players were being distracted by the ongoing Australian legal dramas involving the Bulldogs and NRL’s attempts to stop Williams playing rugby in France.

“We’re not thinking about that,” Whitford said.

“We just want things to work out for his sake and for our sake because obviously it’s in his interest to play well and our interest as well.

“We’re just going to look after the present really and what happens happens, we can’t control that.”

Also unperturbed about off-field dramas were Phil Croce and his 10-year-old son Antoine, who were among the lucky few Toulon fans for whom Williams signed autographs.

“Sonny Bill Williams is a star in Australia and will be in France,” Phil Croce said.

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