sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/r ... index.html Sonny Bill Williams has announced his departure from the mighty All Blacks for a few weeks work in Japan then back to the NRL - the headline being that he will be the first $2mio NRL player. This article is laughable for it's real venom against SBW and "simplistic" League, but whatever fears we have about our players being tempted over to Australia, it is good to see League, at least somewhere, not being the poor cousin of Union.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/r ... index.html Sonny Bill Williams has announced his departure from the mighty All Blacks for a few weeks work in Japan then back to the NRL - the headline being that he will be the first $2mio NRL player. This article is laughable for it's real venom against SBW and "simplistic" League, but whatever fears we have about our players being tempted over to Australia, it is good to see League, at least somewhere, not being the poor cousin of Union.

Interesting that this man of honour will honour a contract on a handshake but not a written one.

While SBW is undoubtedly one of the world's great RL talents, and I'd have him at Wigan in a shot, I wouldn't believe we'd actually see him in Cherry and White until he walked out onto the field for the first game.

It's rare that a player's untrustworthiness overshadows his ability, but I think it does with SBW.

It's a short career and he really has to look after himself. I have no problem with that at all. A club will drop you like a hot coal if it has too. I do have an issue with him going on about honour though. Don't hide behind that SBW just do what you've got to do and get on with it.

Rubbish, he's exactly the type of player we DON'T want at Wigan. I'm sick of players walking out halfway through their contracts and he would do exactly that.

if sonny really doesn't want to come back to rugby league and is only doing it because he made an agreement 5 years ago i think the nrl should refuse hes registration, he will come for a season and go back to money grabbing and will make league look silly in the end. i watch sonny every week and he has really learned how to play union and can now read the game but theres no way he will keep up with the league players i have seen him blowing hes alot lately also it looks like hes lost alot of speed.

I find it crazy The Sydney Roosters are prepared to pay a huge proportion of their salary cap on a player with a one year contract, they will have to release quite a few of their players one of which will be Braith Anasta (

IL 3 year contact please). I'd love the prospect of seeing SBW back in our sport because he's one of the best players of either code but I feel for the Roosters fans and the complete lack of respect their board has given to them and the clubs chances of success in the future following next season.

anasta has signed for the tigers.

Perhaps if you'd bothered reading to the end of my two-sentence post you'd have seen that I too would have doubts.

I know it was a bit tongue in cheek I think Anasta will do great things in mentoring young Curtis Sironen at stand off.

yeah they are both built like each other, i think if curtis sironen can lose some puppy weight he will be next class to come through looks very good so far.

100% agree.

I am extremely pleased to be able to say that Wigan is back to being a club where the individual (even Sam

) is way less important that itself.

Are people actually saying they do not want Sonny Bill Williams at Wigan? I appreciate it is a fantasy and will never happen but if it were a possibility people would not want arguably the most complete rugby player of his generation in our team.

Lets not be naive the current team and teams in the glory days were and are not full of selfless individuals they are managed very well and put in a certain structure by good coaches.

See John Dorahay for what happens when the coach is not able to manage his players that were once managed by a different coach.

If people think SBW would not be a huge asset to Wigan RLFC then they are in cloud cuckoo land if people think Tomkins is good then they would be stunned by the likes of SBW, and that is no disrespect to Tomkins, its simply an indication of where SBW is in relation to development and only where Tomkins will be if he goes South.

this is a none arguement sam and SBW are completely different players, with out players like sam sbw wouldn't have players finishing off hes breaks. rugby talent wise sam tomkins is 100 miles infront of sbw but for sheer size and power sbw is 100 miles infront of sam. Like i said i watch SBW every weekend and hes found it so easy to offload alot because there are less in the tackle compaired to league. I think sonny will need alot of conditioning and training to come back to the level required for the NRL. a more fair comparision would be hock and SBW, and i dont think SBW is at the same level as hock at the moment but before SBW was faster and was a monster hitter (but its got him injured alot) lately he looks to have lost alot of speed and isn't the best tackler.

Yes I am actually saying I do not want SBW at the club.

We are progressing extremely well atm, and we don't need players with his attitude thank you very much.

Players with his "attitude"? What exactly would you say is his attitude?

I'm surprised you need this explaining.... Wigan are fuctioning as a team...

It would never happen but if there ever was a chance to sign SBW there is no way you could turn it down. The guys a superstar, regardless of his attitude/how greedy he is.

The game as a whole needs talented players in it here and in Aus, its good to see SBW coming back into the NRL.

I can see peoples point of view re contracts but maybe some of our aussie poster on here could clarify if he is being guided by his legal bods and his agents into making the decisions he has made in recent times

In general you are right, but the way that we have treated the likes of Roberts and Fielden recently indicates that the club is "doing the right thing" by its employees, maybe as a contra-reaction to some of the unscrupulous goings on when Mr Whelan and uncle Mo where in situ.

SBW has the attitude of a winner, just about all great players have attitudes that some see as negative.

It did not stop the likes of Hanley, Edwards, Gregory becoming Wigan legends and also cohabitting in the same team even though they did not always see eye to eye.

At the end of the day the players above and SBW have a common attitude, they are winners and they are also professionals. That can often have personality traits that some do not like but ultimately it is part of what makes them great sportsmen.

To say you would not want arguably the most naturally gifted rugby player on the planet playing for Wigan because of his "attitude" is a strange call in my opinion.

People may or may not know Ellery was one helluva a ruthless person when it came to money and his contracts, Ellery knew his worth and capitalised on it. SBW has done exactly the same or been advised to

In the modern era, Ellery Hanley would scarcely have played RL. He, and probably others like him - Edwards, Lydon, Bell, Iro, etc - would have gone to RU at an early stage, as the Salary Cap would have prevented Wigan, or anyone else in the game, matching the RU money. Offiah, Davies, Inga etc would never have come in the first place.

But I think that SBW's mercenary traits go a little bit deeper than that. The man has proved by his actions that he will walk out on a club mid-contract if someone pays him enough. Not try to renegotiate a contract, as Barrett did and Lima has done - which would be a slightly more gentlemanly approach, but simply walk out and give a callous V-sign to all the fans who adored him.

My concern is that, regardless of his form and ability, we'd never know from one week to the next whether he was going to turn up.

Certainly agree with you re the RU.

Wasnt the reason Ellery walked out of wigan was that the then british version of American football was offering him big money to go and play, yet the arguement with Graham Lowe was just a smokescreen ?

Agree on all points.

The level of teamwork and "togetherness" at Wigan at present is something that we haven't seen for a very long time. That simply cannot be risked for ANY player in my opinion.

Is that so difficult a point to make?

Fortunately I firmly believe SW has the same opinion. If you listen to him when asked about signings, one of the things that he often mentions is whether that player would "fit in".