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THE keenly-waited return of Sonny Bill Williams to NRL action is likely to be delayed for another week, Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes said today.
Williams, recovering from stress fractures to both feet, showed little sign of discomfort as he worked on his own at Bulldogs training today.
But Folkes is leaning toward omitting his New Zealand Test star from Sunday's trip to Canberra to take on the Raiders.
"It's a day-by-day thing, (we'll) see how he goes," Folkes said today.
"I'd be very surprised if he played this week. I don't think I'll pick him, I'm pretty sure he won't play."
"It's not about his injury now, it's about the preparation he's had leading into it, whether he feels comfortable, which I don't think he does.
"He feels like he needs another week or two under his belt training-wise. He's only just done a little bit of agility today and that's the first agility he's done."
Williams, 20, is expected to return in the centres rather than the back row, in a bid to reduce the risk of further injury, after ankle and knee injuries limited him to five games in 2005.
His prolonged absence has left Folkes with a selection dilemma heading into the clash with the Raiders, with wing Matt Utai also set to miss the match with rib cartilage damage.
Folkes said he had hoped to avoid playing utility Reni Maitua, who was dropped to Premier League last week for turning up late to training, in the centres, but injuries to Trent Cutler (hand) and Namila Davui (ankle) may force his hand.
"We're sort of a bit thin on the ground in the outside backs," Folkes said.
"There's a few options. I probably need to sit down discuss a few things with the Premier League coach and maybe even the (Jersey) Flegg coach."
After opening the season with a tight loss to Penrith, the Bulldogs looked back to their best when they hammered premier Wests Tigers 47-12 in round two.
They were then on the end of a hiding themselves in a 46-22 loss to Newcastle, a result that left Folkes more than a little perplexed as to his side's mental approach.
"It was disappointing from the whole team's perspective in that we played well against the Tigers the week before, and you're looking to move to get to a decent level and sort of continue that," he said.
"So our consistency, our lack of consistency over the two weeks was the disappointing thing.
"We're not the only side in that situation at the moment.
"You could probably say that the Cowboys have the only team that have been consistent this year so far."
By Steve Jancetic
April 3, 2006
Source: Foxsports
Williams, recovering from stress fractures to both feet, showed little sign of discomfort as he worked on his own at Bulldogs training today.
But Folkes is leaning toward omitting his New Zealand Test star from Sunday's trip to Canberra to take on the Raiders.
"It's a day-by-day thing, (we'll) see how he goes," Folkes said today.
"I'd be very surprised if he played this week. I don't think I'll pick him, I'm pretty sure he won't play."
"It's not about his injury now, it's about the preparation he's had leading into it, whether he feels comfortable, which I don't think he does.
"He feels like he needs another week or two under his belt training-wise. He's only just done a little bit of agility today and that's the first agility he's done."
Williams, 20, is expected to return in the centres rather than the back row, in a bid to reduce the risk of further injury, after ankle and knee injuries limited him to five games in 2005.
His prolonged absence has left Folkes with a selection dilemma heading into the clash with the Raiders, with wing Matt Utai also set to miss the match with rib cartilage damage.
Folkes said he had hoped to avoid playing utility Reni Maitua, who was dropped to Premier League last week for turning up late to training, in the centres, but injuries to Trent Cutler (hand) and Namila Davui (ankle) may force his hand.
"We're sort of a bit thin on the ground in the outside backs," Folkes said.
"There's a few options. I probably need to sit down discuss a few things with the Premier League coach and maybe even the (Jersey) Flegg coach."
After opening the season with a tight loss to Penrith, the Bulldogs looked back to their best when they hammered premier Wests Tigers 47-12 in round two.
They were then on the end of a hiding themselves in a 46-22 loss to Newcastle, a result that left Folkes more than a little perplexed as to his side's mental approach.
"It was disappointing from the whole team's perspective in that we played well against the Tigers the week before, and you're looking to move to get to a decent level and sort of continue that," he said.
"So our consistency, our lack of consistency over the two weeks was the disappointing thing.
"We're not the only side in that situation at the moment.
"You could probably say that the Cowboys have the only team that have been consistent this year so far."
By Steve Jancetic
April 3, 2006
Source: Foxsports
