[h=1]Sonny Bill Williams book: How SBW’s rugby defection rocked and divided two codes[/h]
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How the newspaper reacted to news Sonny Bill has defected
IN an exclusive extract from the new book Sonny Ball, Paul Kent takes a closer look at how Sonny Bill Williams’ defection to rugby — while still under contract — divided and shocked two codes.
“TODD Greenberg was at home the day his world changed. It was one of those late winter afternoons, not really winter at all, and he was in the backyard doing what his job rarely allows him to do. Be a father.It was 26 July and it started like it usually starts in this game, quietly with a phone call. At the other end was broadcaster Ray Hadley in an ad break from his 2GB radio show, the ‘Continuous Call’.A caller had lit up the radio box.‘You know anything about Sonny Bill being spotted going through Customs to get on a flight?’ Hadley said to Greenberg.
Greenberg had been Bulldogs chief executive for only six months but already he knew the story would take some beating.‘Sometimes you’re close to the mark,’ he said to Hadley, ‘but geez, you’ve really missed it on this one. You probably need to check your sources.’Greenberg knew Canterbury was playing Monday night, just two days away. More than that, he spoke to Sonny the previous day at a kids’ coaching clinic and not a word suggested he was doing anything other than getting ready for this game, which was necessary because the Bulldogs were not travelling all that flash.
‘Sonny this is the worst decision of yr (sic) life. You hav allowed others to run yr (sic) life
Steve Folkes
Sonny at the airport?Hadley laughed, ‘Fair enough, just thought I’d check with you.’Still, Greenberg hung up and felt an itch. On Thursday he sat in a meeting with Williams and incoming coach Kevin Moore and captain Andrew Ryan discussing next season’s plans.A reporter called after this meeting to check out a rumour that Williams was weeks away from walking out on Canterbury for a Rugby union deal overseas. While the gossip columns had alluded to it for months it was at odds with the Sonny in the meeting, so Greenberg quietly put it to bed and not a peep made it into the press.Greenberg called George Peponis and they agreed Arthur Coorey would meet player manager Nasser the following day, the Friday. The next morning Nasser cancelled and rescheduled it for the next day, Saturday. Peponis then called Greenberg to tell him the meeting had gone ahead and Nasser had assured him Williams was going nowhere.
Spotted: SBW was pictured at the airport as he tried to leave Australia
Yet after Hadley’s call Greenberg thought it was all a bit convenient, so he went through his phone until he found Nasser’s name.‘Hey mate,’ Greenberg said.‘What’s happening?’ Nasser said.It seemed very cordial.‘Look Khoder,’ Greenberg said, tired of games. ‘Enough nonsense. Just tell me, are the reports true that Sonny has left the country? Yes or no?’‘Yep,’ said Nasser. ‘Sonny’s had enough.’‘Right. I don’t want to talk to you any further,’ Greenberg said, hanging up.As simple as that, it all changed.
‘To get out in the middle of the night, and back door it like he did, it’s a dog act . . . I would never have done it to my teammates.
Geyer
Greenberg sat down and let it wash over him. It was true. For five whole minutes he sat there, gathering himself, knowing his world was about to change. It was the last five minutes of peace he would have for some time.Soon, reports Williams was spotted travelling through Customs will be all over Hadley’s show. More than one witness saw him at the airport.Anthony Mundine drove him, with his Canterbury teammate Willie Tonga. Tonga’s presence was kept quiet. Mundine noticed Williams was ‘jittery’ in the car, though he maintained he was doing the right thing. There were a few laughs, a few quiet moments, some serious talk.‘He genuinely feels in his heart and in his mind that he’s done the right thing,’ Mundine said the following day. ‘The only thing that was really bugging him was that he didn’t have the opportunity to explain to his boys — and I don’t know if that was boys as in teammates or boys as in his mates close in the team — and his hardcore fans at the Dogs and in rugby league in general how he felt.’
Safe to say Bulldogs fans will not forget what SBW did
With his small window of peace over, Greenberg called Peponis.‘Do me a favour,’ he said at the end. ‘Ring each of the board members and tell them to turn their phones off. It’s really important we don’t get found out here. We need to all be on the same page. And when you’ve done all that, turn your phone off, too.’Greenberg then called coach Steve Folkes. The Dogs had a training run the following morning.‘First thing you need to figure out is who’s playing in the jersey on Monday night,’ he said. ‘I don’t have much other info but do me a favour and don’t talk to anybody until you get to training tomorrow.’‘You know me, I don’t answer my phone anyway,’ Folkes said.Then Greenberg called the captain, Andrew Ryan. Where Peponis and Folkes were stunned, Ryan’s pain went beyond. He kept asking questions. Sonny had walked out on them?Greenberg had no answers.
‘If he doesn’t want to be here, then perhaps it’s a good thing because we only want guys that want to be here,’
Luke Patten
‘It’s really important that you talk to some of the senior boys and tell them that we’ll talk about this tomorrow at training,’ Greenberg said. ‘You need to tell them not to talk to anybody. We need to be really tight in our messaging.’Greenberg stressed silence again to Ryan, afraid what the players might say. He was not afraid that the players would criticise Sonny but the opposite. Greenberg was afraid that in their confusion the players would fall back to default mode and defend Williams’ walkout: he’s not a bad guy, we’re going to miss him, all that.And all of which, when the reality set in that Williams was truly gone, would be far more catastrophic on the club and player morale. Williams was not coming back. The sooner the players realised, the better.By now, Sonny was sitting in seat 14D with his cap pulled low. His travel companion was Nasser’s brother, Ahmed. He had no clue a Customs officer tipped off Hadley.Even before the plane reached cruising altitude Hadley was airing reports Williams had walked out on the club. Disbelief was starting to register. Sonny stepped to the counter using his newly acquired Samoan passport, not his New Zealand passport, and told the officer he would be out of Australia for eight months.The Customs officer read all about Sonny Bill. He knew what that meant.[h=2]WORD GETS OUT[/h]As confirmation arrived that Williams was gone, The Sunday Telegraph gutted its news pages to make room. Pages were redrawn, stories thrown out to make room for this, the one they would all be talking about.Nobody had heard of anything like this before. Rumours surfaced quickly that Williams was going to French rugby club Toulon. The figure was a two-year deal worth three million dollars. Some reporters began defending him, saying he was finally getting market value.He was in the first year of a $400,000-a-year deal with the Bulldogs, far less than the Toulon deal, but it was signed and registered, with four more years to run. It was 26 July 2008, a week before Sonny Bill Williams turned twenty-three.
Cover of The Sunday Telegraph
SBW responds
The Sunday Telegraph ran the story on page one, reporting Williams had signed a two-year, three-million-dollar deal with Toulon. ‘Sonny Bill Flees To France,’ said the headline. ‘NRL Bombshell: Superstar Quits’.For reasons never explained the Sun-Herald, which had broken much of the news on Williams’ complaints throughout the year, was slower off the mark.Here is one cost of Sonny Ball. All of us in the business were being played in different ways.When the newspapers hit the stands the following morning the Sunday Telegraph remained deliriously happy. It was all anybody wanted to talk about and they had it, page one.The Sun-Herald was paying the price for trying too hard to stay sweet with Williams and Nasser. It splashed with ABC correspondent Peter Lloyd on bail in Singapore declaring he would not run from drug charges. Lloyd’s arrest was already nine days old.Fullback Luke Patten, among the club’s leadership group, was strong and defiant, and his resilience filled the air with a warmth the Bulldogs fans needed to hear. ‘If he doesn’t want to be here, then perhaps it’s a good thing because we only want guys that want to be here,’ he said.
SBW pictured in London while awaiting a French visa
Immediately the TAB, the government betting agency, suspended betting on the Monday-night game against St George Illawarra, such was the impact. At NRL headquarters boss David Gallop was angry, trying his best to sound civil as he urged Williams to return in a doorstep press conference.‘It is obviously unacceptable to walk out on a contract,’ he said. ‘If he has personal issues we are happy to discuss them with him. But we will support the Bulldogs in any legal action to prevent him playing for anyone else other than the club he is contracted to. I am sure his teammates and fans would like an explanation.’Greenberg told the Telegraph he already had advice from a Queen’s Counsel. The Bulldogs’ contract was watertight.Then the reporter, David Riccio, found French agent Pierre Vandome, who brokered Luke Rooney’s move from the NRL to Toulon. Vandome confirmed the French club’s interest.
“I think it’s pretty bad form from Sonny Bill. These guys, these highly paid young guys, just seem to have a different set of loyalties and values
John Connolly
Not only that, Toulon wanted to buy out the final four years of Williams’ contract worth $1.6 million. Vandome might have had the best of intentions, but not a word of what he said to Riccio was true. Toulon had no intention of buying out the contract.The Telegraph asked Andrew Johns to write a column. His column started: ‘Disbelief ... I’m staggered. It is poor form on Sonny’s part. He has turned his back on his club, his fans and most importantly, his teammates. They’d be devastated and no doubt looking for answers. They’re also entitled to be filthy that he has cleared out.’And there, in essence, is why it was such a big deal.There is nothing new in a parting of the ways.Players leave clubs all the time, about as often as clubs sack players. But there is a bond between teammates, a trust that was severed in the most dramatic way. In looking after himself, Williams left his teammates worse off. It is a sentiment that spreads across the National Rugby League and nobody can quite explain why he did it.Wallabies coach John Connolly echoed Johns’ sentiments. “I think it’s pretty bad form from Sonny Bill. These guys, these highly paid young guys, just seem to have a different set of loyalties and values. It’s all about the dollar. Every manager worth his salt will be trying to get his player over there now.’ Phil Gould, a Sun-Herald columnist and a critic of the NRL administration, texted one quote to his paper: ‘I told you so.’[h=2]‘WORST DECISION OF YOUR LIFE’[/h]On the plane, Williams felt a tremendous sense of relief. He had finally done it. There was nothing to do but sit back and let the relief filter through. His plane landed late in Singapore and he missed his connecting flight to London. He had nothing to do except wait.He turned on his phone and among the messages that came in was one from Folkes: ‘Sonny this is the worst decision of yr life. You hav allowed others to run yr life. This will lose u the respect of everyone. I feel betrayed personally. I cannot stick up for u on this one. I am lost for words. I hope u no wat yr doing. Money is not worth yr integrity. U alone r accountable for this.’It registered not a bleep with Williams. He lost respect for Folkes months ago.It did not take Williams long to learn of the furore back in Australia. In his white T-shirt, a black cap and backpack, he was just another traveller wandering Changi Airport. The time delay gave chasing media the chance to find him, though. Already reporters in England were being hustled and told to get to Heathrow to catch Williams before he connected to France.
In 2012 SBW confirmed he would return to NRL with the Roosters.
The Daily Telegraph’s Lisa Davies was at Changi, returning from holidays when, in a gift from heaven, she saw Williams walk by. Doing what any good reporter would do, she approached him. Williams quickly made for the toilets. Soon the whole scene became comedy, a B-grade fugitive chase. Williams strode through the airport carrying his ticket and passport and refused to be diverted or even slowed as a small blonde, weighing about as much as six dollars worth of chopped liver, stayed hard on his heels. Soon after, the first pictures of Sonny Bill Williams were beamed back to Australia.On Sunday nobody knew for sure where Williams was. But the debate about to take place on air goes a long way to defining the odyssey of Sonny Bill Williams. Sitting beside host Andrew Voss on The Sunday Roast was Matt Johns while Mark Geyer was on Voss’ right.Johns remembered what kept him at Newcastle in the Super League war days. ‘Gus signed us,’ Johns told Voss. ‘He signed us to a good deal but he knew the Super League one was worth a lot more.’Johns’ belief reflected the overwhelming sentiment in the game. ‘What disappoints me is what he has done to his club and his teammates, and the game, by walking out,’ he said of Sonny. Johns was, getting to the heart of it without agenda. Geyer seemed to understand. During a cross David Gallop said. ‘What we’re talking about here is someone walking out on his teammates mid-season. It flies in the face of everything that kids are taught about team sport and that’s the most disappointing aspect of it.’[h=2]‘DOG ACT’[/h]Geyer was then given his chance and heard a bell ring. ‘To get out in the middle of the night, and back door it like he did, it’s a dog act,’ he said. ‘I don’t care what you say ... I would never have done it to my teammates. That’s the one rule you don’t break. ‘He walked out on his mates,’ he said again. ‘He had a contract. The kid’s not a star in my eyes — far from it.’There seemed little doubt Danny Weidler knew before Williams got on the plane that he was going to leave. Nobody was closer to the Khoder camp than him.Even if it was, as expected, as Geyer asked, ‘why did he go out the back door’? as he sought answers from Weidler who said SBW ‘had to go’.
To give us no indication at all and to walk out on us while we’re trying to prepare for a game is quite difficult to take.’
Andrew Ryan
‘I can’t let this statement go,’ Voss said. ‘You’re saying he had to go? What? He had a gun to his head saying he had to go?’‘If you’re being threatened with injunctions, right, you’ve got to go,’ Weidler said.Reading between the lines it became clear Williams had planned this for a while.Geyer asked Weidler to ‘tell me honestly’ if Nasser was a bad influence on those he managed.‘Absolutely not,’ Weidler said. ‘His priority here is the footballer. It’s not the club. It’s not the game. It’s the footballer.’As the Sunday Roast was airing the Bulldogs assembled at Belmore Oval for training. It was a tough time for the club. They had won just one of their previous seven games and, nobody knew it yet, but they would finish the season in last place.Andrew Ryan was still coming to terms with it. He revealed he met Williams on Thursday to discuss his future role at the club, long term, as part of the ongoing concerns about Sonny’s role at the club.
The cover of Paul Kent’s book
‘We are very shocked and disappointed,’ he said. ‘To give us no indication at all and to walk out on us while we’re trying to prepare for a game is quite difficult to take.’He talked quietly, the depth of his hurt poured into every syllable. ‘He has hurt a lot of us, yeah.’There was no doubt where Folkes stood on Sonny.‘He has been here since he was sixteen,’ he said. ‘We have supported him in every way possible, sometimes above and beyond.’ Folkes spent much of the previous night wondering where it went wrong. ‘I am thinking it is a decision he is going to regret. It is all a bit unbelievable,’ he said.Later that afternoon Gallop walked outside NRL headquarters at Fox. For good news, announcements and press conferences were inside, with sponsored signage as the backdrop. Bad news got done out front. Gallop spoke slowly, deliberately and forcefully and the front. He tried to get everything he was earlier briefed on out in the right order.He called on the International Rugby Board (IRB) to refuse to register Williams’ contract.‘On an urgent basis,’ he added. It was big news. Gallop’s stance had hardened overnight and Williams now faced a life ban from the game.
Sonny Bill Williams pictured playing in France
Come back now or there was no coming back was Gallop’s ultimatum. It was a gamble that depended entirely on Williams doubting his decision. Gallop could have saved his breath with a quick call to the Australian Rugby union.There was nothing the IRB could do to stop Williams taking up a French rugby contract. The IRB held no jurisdiction over the privately owned French clubs.At the Sydney Football Stadium the Sydney Roosters beat Manly and former teammates Willie Mason and Mark O’Meley refused to comment on Williams’ walkout. Roosters coach Brad Fittler, a man of principle, knew it couldn’t be ignored. ‘He’s walked out on a lot of people. I find it quite disappointing,’ he said. ‘I’d be quite disappointed if one of our players did it for whatever reason. I couldn’t find a strong enough reason for his actions. His talent and his drawcard, everything about it is a big loss to rugby league, no doubt in the world.’
- EXTRACT BY PAUL KENT
- THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
- JULY 25, 2015 6:00PM
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How the newspaper reacted to news Sonny Bill has defected
IN an exclusive extract from the new book Sonny Ball, Paul Kent takes a closer look at how Sonny Bill Williams’ defection to rugby — while still under contract — divided and shocked two codes.
“TODD Greenberg was at home the day his world changed. It was one of those late winter afternoons, not really winter at all, and he was in the backyard doing what his job rarely allows him to do. Be a father.It was 26 July and it started like it usually starts in this game, quietly with a phone call. At the other end was broadcaster Ray Hadley in an ad break from his 2GB radio show, the ‘Continuous Call’.A caller had lit up the radio box.‘You know anything about Sonny Bill being spotted going through Customs to get on a flight?’ Hadley said to Greenberg.
Greenberg had been Bulldogs chief executive for only six months but already he knew the story would take some beating.‘Sometimes you’re close to the mark,’ he said to Hadley, ‘but geez, you’ve really missed it on this one. You probably need to check your sources.’Greenberg knew Canterbury was playing Monday night, just two days away. More than that, he spoke to Sonny the previous day at a kids’ coaching clinic and not a word suggested he was doing anything other than getting ready for this game, which was necessary because the Bulldogs were not travelling all that flash.
Steve Folkes
Spotted: SBW was pictured at the airport as he tried to leave Australia
Yet after Hadley’s call Greenberg thought it was all a bit convenient, so he went through his phone until he found Nasser’s name.‘Hey mate,’ Greenberg said.‘What’s happening?’ Nasser said.It seemed very cordial.‘Look Khoder,’ Greenberg said, tired of games. ‘Enough nonsense. Just tell me, are the reports true that Sonny has left the country? Yes or no?’‘Yep,’ said Nasser. ‘Sonny’s had enough.’‘Right. I don’t want to talk to you any further,’ Greenberg said, hanging up.As simple as that, it all changed.
Geyer
Safe to say Bulldogs fans will not forget what SBW did
With his small window of peace over, Greenberg called Peponis.‘Do me a favour,’ he said at the end. ‘Ring each of the board members and tell them to turn their phones off. It’s really important we don’t get found out here. We need to all be on the same page. And when you’ve done all that, turn your phone off, too.’Greenberg then called coach Steve Folkes. The Dogs had a training run the following morning.‘First thing you need to figure out is who’s playing in the jersey on Monday night,’ he said. ‘I don’t have much other info but do me a favour and don’t talk to anybody until you get to training tomorrow.’‘You know me, I don’t answer my phone anyway,’ Folkes said.Then Greenberg called the captain, Andrew Ryan. Where Peponis and Folkes were stunned, Ryan’s pain went beyond. He kept asking questions. Sonny had walked out on them?Greenberg had no answers.
Luke Patten
Cover of The Sunday Telegraph
SBW responds
The Sunday Telegraph ran the story on page one, reporting Williams had signed a two-year, three-million-dollar deal with Toulon. ‘Sonny Bill Flees To France,’ said the headline. ‘NRL Bombshell: Superstar Quits’.For reasons never explained the Sun-Herald, which had broken much of the news on Williams’ complaints throughout the year, was slower off the mark.Here is one cost of Sonny Ball. All of us in the business were being played in different ways.When the newspapers hit the stands the following morning the Sunday Telegraph remained deliriously happy. It was all anybody wanted to talk about and they had it, page one.The Sun-Herald was paying the price for trying too hard to stay sweet with Williams and Nasser. It splashed with ABC correspondent Peter Lloyd on bail in Singapore declaring he would not run from drug charges. Lloyd’s arrest was already nine days old.Fullback Luke Patten, among the club’s leadership group, was strong and defiant, and his resilience filled the air with a warmth the Bulldogs fans needed to hear. ‘If he doesn’t want to be here, then perhaps it’s a good thing because we only want guys that want to be here,’ he said.
SBW pictured in London while awaiting a French visa
Immediately the TAB, the government betting agency, suspended betting on the Monday-night game against St George Illawarra, such was the impact. At NRL headquarters boss David Gallop was angry, trying his best to sound civil as he urged Williams to return in a doorstep press conference.‘It is obviously unacceptable to walk out on a contract,’ he said. ‘If he has personal issues we are happy to discuss them with him. But we will support the Bulldogs in any legal action to prevent him playing for anyone else other than the club he is contracted to. I am sure his teammates and fans would like an explanation.’Greenberg told the Telegraph he already had advice from a Queen’s Counsel. The Bulldogs’ contract was watertight.Then the reporter, David Riccio, found French agent Pierre Vandome, who brokered Luke Rooney’s move from the NRL to Toulon. Vandome confirmed the French club’s interest.
John Connolly
In 2012 SBW confirmed he would return to NRL with the Roosters.
The Daily Telegraph’s Lisa Davies was at Changi, returning from holidays when, in a gift from heaven, she saw Williams walk by. Doing what any good reporter would do, she approached him. Williams quickly made for the toilets. Soon the whole scene became comedy, a B-grade fugitive chase. Williams strode through the airport carrying his ticket and passport and refused to be diverted or even slowed as a small blonde, weighing about as much as six dollars worth of chopped liver, stayed hard on his heels. Soon after, the first pictures of Sonny Bill Williams were beamed back to Australia.On Sunday nobody knew for sure where Williams was. But the debate about to take place on air goes a long way to defining the odyssey of Sonny Bill Williams. Sitting beside host Andrew Voss on The Sunday Roast was Matt Johns while Mark Geyer was on Voss’ right.Johns remembered what kept him at Newcastle in the Super League war days. ‘Gus signed us,’ Johns told Voss. ‘He signed us to a good deal but he knew the Super League one was worth a lot more.’Johns’ belief reflected the overwhelming sentiment in the game. ‘What disappoints me is what he has done to his club and his teammates, and the game, by walking out,’ he said of Sonny. Johns was, getting to the heart of it without agenda. Geyer seemed to understand. During a cross David Gallop said. ‘What we’re talking about here is someone walking out on his teammates mid-season. It flies in the face of everything that kids are taught about team sport and that’s the most disappointing aspect of it.’[h=2]‘DOG ACT’[/h]Geyer was then given his chance and heard a bell ring. ‘To get out in the middle of the night, and back door it like he did, it’s a dog act,’ he said. ‘I don’t care what you say ... I would never have done it to my teammates. That’s the one rule you don’t break. ‘He walked out on his mates,’ he said again. ‘He had a contract. The kid’s not a star in my eyes — far from it.’There seemed little doubt Danny Weidler knew before Williams got on the plane that he was going to leave. Nobody was closer to the Khoder camp than him.Even if it was, as expected, as Geyer asked, ‘why did he go out the back door’? as he sought answers from Weidler who said SBW ‘had to go’.
Andrew Ryan
The cover of Paul Kent’s book
‘We are very shocked and disappointed,’ he said. ‘To give us no indication at all and to walk out on us while we’re trying to prepare for a game is quite difficult to take.’He talked quietly, the depth of his hurt poured into every syllable. ‘He has hurt a lot of us, yeah.’There was no doubt where Folkes stood on Sonny.‘He has been here since he was sixteen,’ he said. ‘We have supported him in every way possible, sometimes above and beyond.’ Folkes spent much of the previous night wondering where it went wrong. ‘I am thinking it is a decision he is going to regret. It is all a bit unbelievable,’ he said.Later that afternoon Gallop walked outside NRL headquarters at Fox. For good news, announcements and press conferences were inside, with sponsored signage as the backdrop. Bad news got done out front. Gallop spoke slowly, deliberately and forcefully and the front. He tried to get everything he was earlier briefed on out in the right order.He called on the International Rugby Board (IRB) to refuse to register Williams’ contract.‘On an urgent basis,’ he added. It was big news. Gallop’s stance had hardened overnight and Williams now faced a life ban from the game.
Sonny Bill Williams pictured playing in France
Come back now or there was no coming back was Gallop’s ultimatum. It was a gamble that depended entirely on Williams doubting his decision. Gallop could have saved his breath with a quick call to the Australian Rugby union.There was nothing the IRB could do to stop Williams taking up a French rugby contract. The IRB held no jurisdiction over the privately owned French clubs.At the Sydney Football Stadium the Sydney Roosters beat Manly and former teammates Willie Mason and Mark O’Meley refused to comment on Williams’ walkout. Roosters coach Brad Fittler, a man of principle, knew it couldn’t be ignored. ‘He’s walked out on a lot of people. I find it quite disappointing,’ he said. ‘I’d be quite disappointed if one of our players did it for whatever reason. I couldn’t find a strong enough reason for his actions. His talent and his drawcard, everything about it is a big loss to rugby league, no doubt in the world.’
