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August 9, 2008
A DEFIANT Sonny Bill Williams has responded to the court order prohibiting him from playing for anyone other than the Bulldogs until 2013 by declaring he would go to prison to pursue his goal of switching codes.
Williams, who was due to make his debut for the French rugby union club Toulon overnight, told the Herald hours before kick-off that he would not be deterred by the NSW Supreme Court injunction made against him yesterday.
Should the 23-year-old New Zealand star ignore the injunction, which was last night being hailed as a victory by the NRL and the Bulldogs club after Williams walked out on the club with more than four years remaining on his $400,000-a-year contract, he could be in contempt of court.
As he prepared to take the field for his first-ever rugby union match, Williams told the Herald: "I stand by my convictions - and if they want to send me to jail for what I believe in, then so be it."
Williams had been formally served court documents on Wednesday by a French process server, who spotted Williams at Toulon's training field. The server walked onto the pitch and threw the documents at Williams.
The documents were picked up by a trainer, who told the club's star recruit: "C'est pour toi."
Yesterday the NSW Supreme Court ordered the 23-year-old Williams not to take the field with his Toulon teammates in a trial match scheduled in the early hours of this morning. The order was made during an injunction hearing brought by his former club in an attempt to stop Williams from playing any code of football for any other club in any competition.
If Williams plays and is found to be in contempt of court, his Sydney assets could be seized. This could include Williams's $1.27 million home in Caringbah, which he bought in October 2005. Williams took out a loan with the NAB for more than $1 million on the property, but the Herald can reveal that the footballer refinanced the loan with the Commonwealth Bank last month, just before his departure.
Outside the court yesterday, the Bulldogs' chief executive, Todd Greenberg, called the win "a victory for the sanctity of a contract".
"The injunction is relatively simple: he has a contract with the Bulldogs. He is one year into a five-year deal," Mr Greenberg said. "The expectation was always that he'd honour that commitment and this ensures that he can't play for anything other than what's in his contract."
Mr Greenberg said that despite the finding in the club's favour, it was "not a particularly joyful occasion for the Bulldogs".
"It is, however, a victory for the sanctity of a contract," he said. "It's a victory for the commitment that one person makes to another. It's as simple as that."
A lawyer for the National Rugby League, Tony O'Reilly, said he expected Williams to obey the judge's ruling. "Orders of court aren't like referees telling players to stay onside. Orders of the court are serious matters and people who are responsible comply with them," he said.
Williams, who sensationally and without warning walked out on his Bulldogs teammates a fortnight ago, was not represented at the hearing, despite a court order to attend.
In his absence, lawyers for the Bulldogs said the club hoped Williams would return to Sydney to continue his career in the NRL and the club would continue to pay its star forward a salary, even if he played for Toulon today.
"He is a player of great talent and my client wishes he would play for them," the barrister for the Bulldogs, Noel Hutley, SC, told the court.
"We are prepared to continue, during the course of an interlocutory argument to pay Mr Williams as per his payments to date, 100 per cent of his contract.
"In other words, even if he keeps playing rugby in Toulon he is going to get a salary from the Bulldogs."
Mr Hutley said he expected Williams would need a week or two to decide if he wanted to take up the club's offer and paying him would ensure he would not be out of pocket, given the order to cease playing for Toulon.
Justice Robert Austin said there was evidence that provided "at the very least, reasonable cause for apprehension that [Williams] does not intend to play for the Bulldogs although he has agreed to until 31 October 2012".
"The evidence before the court satisfies that [Williams] has failed to attend to his contractual responsibilities," he said.
Justice Austin said he had considered the jurisdictional difficulties involved, given Williams intended to remain in France for at least eight months. But he acknowledged that the plaintiffs had shown Williams could be successfully sued for damages in NSW if he breached the order.
"My conclusion is that the making of an interlocutory interim injunction will not be futile," Justice Austin said.
The Bulldogs and NRL are also suing Williams's manager, Khoder Nasser, and the Toulon Rugby Club for "aiding and abetting the star player to breach his contract".
with AAP
A DEFIANT Sonny Bill Williams has responded to the court order prohibiting him from playing for anyone other than the Bulldogs until 2013 by declaring he would go to prison to pursue his goal of switching codes.
Williams, who was due to make his debut for the French rugby union club Toulon overnight, told the Herald hours before kick-off that he would not be deterred by the NSW Supreme Court injunction made against him yesterday.
Should the 23-year-old New Zealand star ignore the injunction, which was last night being hailed as a victory by the NRL and the Bulldogs club after Williams walked out on the club with more than four years remaining on his $400,000-a-year contract, he could be in contempt of court.
As he prepared to take the field for his first-ever rugby union match, Williams told the Herald: "I stand by my convictions - and if they want to send me to jail for what I believe in, then so be it."
Williams had been formally served court documents on Wednesday by a French process server, who spotted Williams at Toulon's training field. The server walked onto the pitch and threw the documents at Williams.
The documents were picked up by a trainer, who told the club's star recruit: "C'est pour toi."
Yesterday the NSW Supreme Court ordered the 23-year-old Williams not to take the field with his Toulon teammates in a trial match scheduled in the early hours of this morning. The order was made during an injunction hearing brought by his former club in an attempt to stop Williams from playing any code of football for any other club in any competition.
If Williams plays and is found to be in contempt of court, his Sydney assets could be seized. This could include Williams's $1.27 million home in Caringbah, which he bought in October 2005. Williams took out a loan with the NAB for more than $1 million on the property, but the Herald can reveal that the footballer refinanced the loan with the Commonwealth Bank last month, just before his departure.
Outside the court yesterday, the Bulldogs' chief executive, Todd Greenberg, called the win "a victory for the sanctity of a contract".
"The injunction is relatively simple: he has a contract with the Bulldogs. He is one year into a five-year deal," Mr Greenberg said. "The expectation was always that he'd honour that commitment and this ensures that he can't play for anything other than what's in his contract."
Mr Greenberg said that despite the finding in the club's favour, it was "not a particularly joyful occasion for the Bulldogs".
"It is, however, a victory for the sanctity of a contract," he said. "It's a victory for the commitment that one person makes to another. It's as simple as that."
A lawyer for the National Rugby League, Tony O'Reilly, said he expected Williams to obey the judge's ruling. "Orders of court aren't like referees telling players to stay onside. Orders of the court are serious matters and people who are responsible comply with them," he said.
Williams, who sensationally and without warning walked out on his Bulldogs teammates a fortnight ago, was not represented at the hearing, despite a court order to attend.
In his absence, lawyers for the Bulldogs said the club hoped Williams would return to Sydney to continue his career in the NRL and the club would continue to pay its star forward a salary, even if he played for Toulon today.
"He is a player of great talent and my client wishes he would play for them," the barrister for the Bulldogs, Noel Hutley, SC, told the court.
"We are prepared to continue, during the course of an interlocutory argument to pay Mr Williams as per his payments to date, 100 per cent of his contract.
"In other words, even if he keeps playing rugby in Toulon he is going to get a salary from the Bulldogs."
Mr Hutley said he expected Williams would need a week or two to decide if he wanted to take up the club's offer and paying him would ensure he would not be out of pocket, given the order to cease playing for Toulon.
Justice Robert Austin said there was evidence that provided "at the very least, reasonable cause for apprehension that [Williams] does not intend to play for the Bulldogs although he has agreed to until 31 October 2012".
"The evidence before the court satisfies that [Williams] has failed to attend to his contractual responsibilities," he said.
Justice Austin said he had considered the jurisdictional difficulties involved, given Williams intended to remain in France for at least eight months. But he acknowledged that the plaintiffs had shown Williams could be successfully sued for damages in NSW if he breached the order.
"My conclusion is that the making of an interlocutory interim injunction will not be futile," Justice Austin said.
The Bulldogs and NRL are also suing Williams's manager, Khoder Nasser, and the Toulon Rugby Club for "aiding and abetting the star player to breach his contract".
with AAP
