Sonny Bill Williams to return to the NRL with the Sydney Roosters

[RothmonyINC]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-sydney-roosters/story-e6frexnr-1226233913691

SUPERSTAR Sonny Bill Williams is on the verge of signing a $4 million deal to return to the NRL with the Sydney Roosters.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Williams' five-year agreement was all but finalised over a breakfast meeting in Circular Quay yesterday with Roosters chairman Nick Politis and Channel Nine supremo David Gyngell.

He will join the Roosters in 2013 on $800,000 a season, exactly double what he was on when he walked out, without notice, on the Bulldogs in 2008 to join Toulon in French rugby union.

The Roosters will use the cash freed up from the expected retirements of fullback Anthony Minichiello and skipper Braith Anasta to fit Williams under the salary cap, which will be increased by 2013 anyway with the next television deal to provide a $1 billion-plus boost for clubs.

Welcome back Sonny, we missed you
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Yesterday's breakfast meeting at a Circular Quay cafe was leaked to the media by the Williams camp.

He is known to be bored in rugby union and has made no secret of his desire to return to rugby league once he is freed from having to pay the Bulldogs any compensation.

Williams signed a one-season deal with Kiwi Super 15 franchise Waikato Chiefs after the recent World Cup, knowing he would be heading back to the sport he loves most. He has been making inquiries about buying property in Sydney for some time.

The Parramatta Eels and the Roosters were always the front-runners to secure his services.

It was Williams who actually initiated yesterday's meeting with two of Sydney's most influential businessmen.

Politis is the long-time chairman of the Roosters. He has powerful contacts and is someone who can structure third-party arrangements on top of the sign-on fee to make the deal happen.

Gyngell is a life-long Sydney Roosters fan and former board member. He spoke to Williams about opportunities at Channel Nine. His agent Khoder Nasser was not at the meeting.

French and Japanese rugby union clubs are still chasing the All Blacks star with offers of up to $1 million a season.

 

[MoNkEy]

SBW can SMB.

 

[Chicharito]

buldogs dicussion because??...to be honest i can see people jumping on the roosters bandwagon tbh

 

[bert]

Phuck SBW, he'll spend most of his time injured anyway (I hope)

 

[KelpiesHuskies]

sonny bill is past his best and will be injured more games than he will play.

 

[GrogDog]

SBW is trash and his greed has assured his legacy as a league player forever.

 

[BaYry Ward]

Can't wait to smash the Roosters.

 

[BoonReturns]

Wish the Dogs could have signed him. He is easily worth that and more. At the least it will be exciting to watch him play

 

[Spudowsky]

Wish the Dogs could have signed him. He is easily worth that and more. At the least it will be exciting to watch him play

I agree he was worth that in 2008. But we don't know what he will do in 2013.

 

[Chicharito]

Wish the Dogs could have signed him. He is easily worth that and more. At the least it will be exciting to watch him play

with that kinda money i dont know how how he would fit under the cap...besides there is plenty of people that have not/will not forgive him for what happend

 

[Bob dog]

The Roosters have rocks in their heads putting all their eggs in one basket, I see a pattern emerging of ex '04 Bulldogs going to the Roosters and failing to reach the same success.
Still good for the game but Im glad we are not paying the bill.

 

[sgodllubsti]

the last season sbw was with the bulldogs, he was a tampon, in for 1 week out for 3. he is more driven about money rather then proformance these days, remembering who his manager is and who the company he keeps is enough of a drama in itself. good luck to the roosters.
at $800 000 a season thats an expensive bench warmer

 

[mulloway]

I wanna know who is doin his paperwork as team mundine doesn't have the credentials to sigh nrl contracts...can someone explain this...who is his manager now

 

[bite man]

I wanna know who is doin his paperwork as team mundine doesn't have the credentials to sigh nrl contracts...can someone explain this...who is his manager now

''sonny who?????????????????????????? havent herd of him!

 

[wigum]

Will be good to watch him finish out his career playing rugby league. Doesn't hurt us in any way so I'm happy to hear this news. Will only rekindle the Roosters Bulldogs rivalry over the coming years

 

[Alan79]

I'm assuming the Roosters are counting on an increase in the salary cap next year. I honestly don't care if they get $BW on board as i wouldn't want him back in a Bulldogs jersey despite the fact that he can create a lot of opportunities on the football field. I get pissed off every time i think about how we let other players go to keep him on one of the highest paid contracts in the NRL at the time and he just shat on the club to chase the $$$$. It's his option to chase the money but he could have done so when we still had the option of spending it on guys who might have stayed loyal. The $400,000 a season he was reputedly on could have gone towards a top half or two reasonably good forwards at that point in time. Having your marquee player leave early in the season when you've already sacrificed some other quality players to accommodate him is no way to treat a club.

Good luck with him Roosters.

 

[Kaz]

His agent Khoder Nasser was not at the meeting.

That him wearing the hat.

 

[PigBenis]

so the rooster will pay $800,000 a season and channel 9 will pay 200,000... Good deal

 

[Dognacious]

Hes a good player sure, but worth 800k a season, when marquee players like Slater, Smith and the likes are on less. You can insert your own star player in my short list there who is on less money but better value for money than SBW. Even if he doesnt get injured and plays every single match, its too much money considering what the rest of the players are on. If players like Slater were on $1million a year, then SBw might (but probably not) be worth 800k.

I also wonder how other Roosters players feel about him doing waht he did to us, then coming back years later on double what he was on before (like rewarding him to return to a game he wasnt supposed to leave to start with...ie the contract he broke). I wonder if they think its fair that he will walk in and be on a lot more pay than any other player in the club.

Glad they got him. I would have lost it if we had got him. Not only is it too much $$$, i wouldnt want him at the club for $10 a season. He is Scummy Bill Williams.

Lol too at them talking him up as a player in the union world cup win. Seriously he played 5 minutes at the end and did nothing.

 

[Dognacious]

The Roosters have rocks in their heads putting all their eggs in one basket, I see a pattern emerging of ex '04 Bulldogs going to the Roosters and failing to reach the same success.Still good for the game but Im glad we are not paying the bill.

Not so much of a possible pattern than fact. Roosters is where ex Bulldog players go to die. None of them have played as well as they did for us since arriving at the land of lattes. If Karma works its stuff, SBW will fail miserabley and retire early. There will be another SBW in the future, one with a brain and better manager maybe. We dont need this one.