Ron Massey: SBW a Disgrace
October 18, 2008
Massey spoke fondly about the “old days” when teammates meant as much to each other as family. How “five to 10″ of the current Kangaroos squad would go on to become legends of the game. That Sonny Bill Williams was a “disgrace” for leaving his teammates in the lurch. How his biggest fear is that today’s players value money over friendship. But mainly he spoke of the brotherhood that rugby league players share.
“Rugby league is about playing for your mate and your team and your coach,” Massey said.
His sentiments are shared by Brian McClennan, the coach who orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in rugby league history – the Kiwis’ 24-0 win over Australia in the 2005 Tri-Nations final in Leeds. A year later, he almost repeated the dose in Sydney, only to be thwarted by a piece of Johnathan Thurston magic in golden-point extra-time.
The affable Kiwi gave an insight into just how courageous his injury-ravaged side was the night it pushed the Kangaroos to the limit.
“There were a lot more people down [injured] than people realise,” he said. “Motu [Tony] was concussed even before he got knocked out by [Willie] Mason. We tried to get a message out to go for the drop goal but he didn’t even know what was going on.
“Nigel Vagana was trying to pull Frank Pritchard’s arm back into its socket. Then the bloke who went on the field, Nathan Cayless, he went down just before extra time. The trainer went up to ask him if he was all right. He said, ‘Yep, I’m ready to go back on, mate’ [even though he was already on the field].
“It was pretty brave.”
Now Wayne Bennett, the man whose Australian side was outplayed in Leeds three years ago, is charged with recreating that bond of brotherhood – for the Kiwis.
Bennett, the assistant coach, gave them his first big post-match speech after their Anzac Test loss this year. His message was simple: “We can’t keep treating Australia as an older brother. We need to treat them as equals.”
Sonny Bill still injury prone in France
September 3, 2008
It seems former NRL big name Sonny Bill Williams has returned to his much talked about injury-prone ways. With SBW already out injured from the Toulon Rugby side.
Only 30 days after linking with Toulon, the law breaking Kiwi is now out of action for 3 weeks with Toulon Rugby officials confirming he will not be playing over the next fortnight.
Information coming from France has not disclosed what injury Sonny Bill Williams has, only saying he had been hurt during Saturday’s draw with Brive.
Just over a month ago, the 23-year-old superstar controversially walked out mid-season on the Bulldogs rugby league club to cash in on the big money on offer for his services in Europe.
Williams’ NRL career was blighted by injury, with the athletic 1.91m and 106kg New Zealander being forced to spend too much time on the sidelines for a player of his rich talents.
Who is Sonny Bill Williams
August 31, 2008
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.”
Bulldogs doing deal with Toulon
August 15, 2008
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
August 8, 2008
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 the outcast
July 30, 2008
Rugby League and NRL star Sonny Bill Williams has quickly become an outcast amongst the tight knight League community.
Leading players, and icons such as Scott Prince and Brad Fittler have today joined the chorus of disproval as Sonny Bill Williams remains in hiding in Europe.
NRL CEO David Gallop has had little luck working with the International Rugby Board to secure a peace deal over SBW playing Union in France, the IRB stating they are unable to stop the FFR or French Rugby Union officials instating Sonny Bill Williams into their competition most likely with Toulon.
SBW’s local legal team are preparing for a defence, arguing that the salary cap is a restraint of trade. A tactic, while possible from a legal standpoint- more than likely is a stalling method, aimed at buying Sonny Bill Williams more time and the chance to simply start playing Rugby Union.
On the Rugby League field, the teammates of Sonny Bill at the Bulldogs are having a real hard time of it. Their NRL Results continue to nose dive, and they desperately needed the help of the talented SBW.
Meanwhile the family and friends of Sonny Bill Williams remain in hiding locally, with the stars Carringbah mansion up for sale as rumours suggest girl friend Genna Shaw is about to move to Europe to link up with long time lover Sonny Bill Williams.
Sonny Bill Williams quits NRL and leaves Bulldogs for France
July 26, 2008
Star NRL and Bulldogs backrower Sonny Bill Williams has reportedly walked away and quit the Bulldogs and the National Rugby League in the past 48 hours.
Information on Sonny Bill Williams quitting the game is still sketchy, but insiders believe that SBW may have already left the country. (Australia) And could be heading for France to Rugby Union in Toulouse.
The situation should no doubt bring legal action from the Bulldogs and/or the NRL should the speculation prove to be true.
This departure of Sonny Bill and his ultimately quitting the Bulldogs and NRL may have been dealt a final blow with the most recent Bulldogs blow up involving close friends Reni Maitua, Lee Ta Maari and Ben Roberts.
More news on the Sonny Bill Williams quits NRL and Bulldogs situation soon.
The most immediate concern for the Bulldogs will be more poor NRL Results in 2008 as they continue to fight the North Queensland Cowboys for the wooden spoon.
Sonny Bill Williams to vital to Kiwi kids at Bulldogs
July 23, 2008
He was missing last week for the Bulldogs and didn’t they feel it? Up against the NZ Warriors and in front of a larger than usual crowd (due to the Todd Greenberg free Kiwi) promotion; the Bulldogs young brigade were given a lesson without Sonny Bill Williams in the lineup.
SBW usually makes around 15 tackles a game, but his NRL stats don’t account for the amount of runners he scares away; opposition players are usually too scared to run at the shoulder of Sonny Bill and as such as makes it hard for them to run their natural attacking styles.
The Bulldogs are seeing a strong group of youngsters coming through and the work ethic and guidance shown by Sonny Bill on the field really helps these guys.
SBW has gone from being an all out attacking and action machine, to a smarter, all rounder type of player. Sonny is now saving tries, slapping 50/50 balls free as well as proving a handful in attack.
With so many players leaving the Bulldogs and the likes of Hazem el Masri also set to leave soon, they need experienced forwards on the Rugby League field like SBW.
The Bulldogs expect Sonny Bill back for their Round 20 NRL clash this week.
Sonny Bill Williams wants big Bulldogs NRL year 2009
July 12, 2008
Its been a super tough year for the Bulldogs in the NRL 2008 season; add to that an unhappy Sonny Bill Williams and it’s been a train wreck.
The public support for SBW has dropped since he took on new management and was seen to be moving towards an additional cash grab as contract talks dragged on. As the Dogs face a possible wooden spoon fight in 2008, what does SBW think about next year – can the mind set improve?
Williams wants to start things this week, with an NRL Round 18 clash with Brisbane a tough game at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday. But he acknowledges a fresh injection of talent is needed to turn the club’s fortunes around.
That will come in 2009 following the signing of Brett Kimmorley, Michael Ennis, Josh Morris and Ben Hannant.
“We’re not going to give up,” Williams said.
“We’ve got to keep going and hopefully we’ll turn it around soon. But I’m keen to get to next year and get these new players at the club and see what we can do.
“They’re all in great form for their clubs and I’m excited about the prospect of playing alongside those boys next year.”
SBW confirmed that current boss Steve Folkes was still very much in charge even though heir apparent Kevin Moore also had plenty of input.
“At training, what Folksy says goes but I think Kev will bring a few new ideas next year,” Williams said.
“Folksy its a business dominated NRL game these days (although Moore is a family addition from the Bulldogs club interestingly) and we haven’t been performing this year, so unfortunately it’s the end of his coaching career at the Bulldogs.”
Williams said the Bulldogs had enjoyed good wins in Brisbane, the most recent a 25-24 thriller in round 23 last year when half-back Brett Sherwin kicked the winning field goal.
“There are very few weaknesses in the Broncos’ line-up but we’ll be having a crack,” Williams said.
Williams played under Broncos coach Wayne Bennett for New Zealand in the Centenary Test at the SCG on May 9 and Bennett has indicated he also will assist head coach Stephen Kearney in the World Cup in October-November.
“I learnt a bit from Wayne and I took it back to the club,” Williams said.
“I think I grew a bit in that week. He’s a great coach and I’m looking forward to being involved with him at the end of the year.”
There are eight survivors from last year’s victory over the Broncos in the Bulldogs’ line-up – Williams, Hazem El Masri, Ben Roberts, Corey Hughes, Chris Armit, Andrew Ryan, Reni Matua and Fred Briggs.
The new faces include full-back Brent Crisp, a former Australian rules player from Kalgoorlie; prop John Kite, 20, who at 114kg rivals Brisbane behemoth Dave Taylor; and half-back Arana Taumata from New Zealand.
The Bulldogs are hoping Taumata will play a major role in turning the club’s fortunes around in the next few years.
Khoder Nasser meets Bulldogs Management
June 5, 2008
Manager of Sonny Bill Williams, Khoder Nasser has this week met Bulldogs officials in the hope of squeezing some money and certainly better conditions for himself out of the western Sydney club.
After taking Sonny Bill Williams under his wing, Nasser has been working hard to get his hands on some cash and trying to maximize his player manage earnings from his new cash cow.
Khoder Nasser must have an impressive hold over Sonny Bill Williams, suddenly SBW and his family are following every direction from the Khoder Nasser camp. Sadly it seems Sonny Bill Wiliams the player and his family are being taken for a ride.
Nasser is only there for one reason; to make money. Does he even care what happens to Sonny Bill Williams? No, not at all. Sadly, the new management team of Nasser and crew who aren’t even NRL accredited player managers will drive a wedge between Sonny Bill and his Bulldogs team mates. Training and NRL game time together will become more frustrating as players feel that SBW is not a ‘brother’ as such and driving hard for the most money he can force his struggling club to pay.
Ultimately, the Bulldogs should simply cut SBW loose. Force him into Rugby Union or another game and do away with the bickering and problems he has caused.
Regularly injured, SBW needs to snap out of his current trance and break ties with the Khoder Nasser camp or risk ruining his reputation and career forever.