No more SBW in black

[Ignoto]

What I find most intriguing is how Quade signed on for three years at the Reds while SBW is going back to league. Knowing the management of both these players, why did one chose to up and go while the other signed one of the larger contracts?

Perhaps this injury has allowed Quade not only to work on his defensive skills, but allowed him to mature and develop?

 

[Jiggles]

SBW is going to be remembered as a player who could've been great, not one who was great in either League or Union. That's a real shame, in my opinion.

 

[Athilnaur]

Sorry to see him go, good guy and one of the finest athletes I have ever seen.

His can do anything if you put your mind to it attitude is inspirational.

 

[SaderCheif]

Update from Stuff.co.nz
''This is due to a handshake agreement made a few years ago before I even came back to New Zealand with an NRL club,'' Williams said
So he was always going back.

 

[Jnor]

Should this not have been made clear to NZRU? Was it?

 

[Antony]

Update from Stuff.co.nz
''This is due to a handshake agreement made a few years ago before I even came back to New Zealand with an NRL club,'' Williams said
So he was always going back.

I call bullshit. He's torn up actual signed contracts before so I doubt he's too concerned with "handshake agreements". He's chasing dollars.

Here's my problem with him. His stated aim is to be considered the greatest cross-code athlete in the world, and I think he has the ability to give that a fair shake. However, what he's doing isn't even remotely in line with those aspirations. He's taking himself off the world stage and going back to playing glorified subbies, all because of an extra $500-600K?

If he was serious about the legacy that he purports to crave, he'd quit both rugby and league and give boxing a proper shot. Or take up golf. Or get into soccer. As it stands all his rhetoric is bullshit, and he's just a guy who was born with good muscle-structure.

Good luck with earning a dollar, but I wish he'd drop all the shit he spouts.

EDIT: This post comes off wayyy more vitriolic than I meant it to.

 

[Brisbok]

Should this not have been made clear to NZRU? Was it?

Um....has he reneged on his contract? When signing a contract with a club should players have to outline exactly what they intend to do after the contract is up? Surely if he is seeing out his contractual obligations there shouldn't be an issue?

Perhaps another question we should ask is, in hindsight, knowing what they know now, would the NZRU, Crusaders and Chiefs have signed SBW for the contracts that they did? I reckon in almost all three cases they probably would.

 

[I like to watch]

No he is having a 3 month holiday in Japan, and picking up a huge wedge on the way through. Then he is commencing with the Roosters, he is not missing any seasons in Oz/NZ to do this, it is an extra.
The rhetoric might be bullshit, but he has ability. look at how defenders react to his presence near the ball. They are all worried.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

Good luck with earning a dollar, but I wish he'd drop all the shit he spouts.

Can you quote something he has said that's put you off? He's been pretty humble his entire career, despite the preconceived notions going around.

 

[Antony]

No he is having a 3 month holiday in Japan, and picking up a huge wedge on the way through. Then he is commencing with the Roosters, he is not missing any seasons in Oz/NZ to do this, it is an extra.

I didn't mean he was taking himself off the world stage by going to Japan, I meant he was doing it by going back to the NRL. Apologies, a bit vague on my part (I assume you were addressing me, right?)

And I'm not denying that he's good, I'm just saying there's a really significant disconnect between what he says and what he does.

 

[Antony]

Can you quote something he has said that's put you off? He's been pretty humble his entire career, despite the preconceived notions going around.

It's not a humility v arrogance thing. All good athletes back themselves. But I'll set a few out:

- "I want to be a bulldog for life"... well... Evidently not that much.
- "Playing for the All Blacks was a childhood dream"... Unless that dream was to play for them for strictly one and a half seasons, evidently not that much.
- "I want to be remembered as the greatest cross-code athlete in the world", and to achieve that goal by playing at the very epicentre of global rugby attention, Japan.
- "I'm going to fight some serious contenders", including a real life disability pensioner.

Obviously a lot of what he says gets beaten up by the media, and probably my opinion is being fueled by the sense that the ABs have been snubbed.

But I still think there's a level of hyperbole that floats around the guy which really takes away from what he's achieved - he sets his own standards then repeatedly fails to meet them.

I'm sure I'm in a minority here though.

 

[SaderCheif]

It's not a humility v arrogance thing. All good athletes back themselves. But I'll set a few out:

- "I want to be a bulldog for life". well. Evidently not that much.
- "Playing for the All Blacks was a childhood dream". Unless that dream was to play for them for strictly one and a half seasons, evidently not that much.
- "I want to be remembered as the greatest cross-code athlete in the world", and to achieve that goal by playing at the very epicentre of global rugby attention, Japan.
- "I'm going to fight some serious contenders", including a real life disability pensioner.

Obviously a lot of what he says gets beaten up by the media, and probably my opinion is being fueled by the sense that the ABs have been snubbed.

But I still think there's a level of hyperbole that floats around the guy which really takes away from what he's achieved - he sets his own standards then repeatedly fails to meet them.

I'm sure I'm in a minority here though.

Fair enough.
But I just watched the full press conference and he actually seemed emotional and regretful. I rekon he's sincere.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

It's not a humility v arrogance thing. All good athletes back themselves. But I'll set a few out:

- "I want to be a bulldog for life". well. Evidently not that much.
- "Playing for the All Blacks was a childhood dream". Unless that dream was to play for them for strictly one and a half seasons, evidently not that much.
- "I want to be remembered as the greatest cross-code athlete in the world", and to achieve that goal by playing at the very epicentre of global rugby attention, Japan.
- "I'm going to fight some serious contenders", including a real life disability pensioner.

Obviously a lot of what he says gets beaten up by the media, and probably my opinion is being fueled by the sense that the ABs have been snubbed.

But I still think there's a level of hyperbole that floats around the guy which really takes away from what he's achieved - he sets his own standards then repeatedly fails to meet them.

I'm sure I'm in a minority here though.

The bolds sounds right. As for the underlined though, what has he said that he hasn't achieved? The only titles he hasn't won yet is a League World Cup and a Super rugby title, yet. Not including his boxing success on the side.

 

[Antony]

This.

Yeah righto mate. Clearly we agree to disagree.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Is anyone surprised by this move?

I think many Gaggerlanders predicted this move back in the halcyon days when RWC2011 was in full swing, and he was getting splinters in his buttocks from the time spent on the bench.

The most disappointing thing will be when we win the Bled Cup back this year, the bloody Darkness supporters will claim that we only won because their best team was not available, ie no SBW.

The Darkness factory will churn out another #12 in due course without too much problem. Ma'a Nonu looks like he is getting some form back. The biggest impact for them is that they lose the marketability of SBW, rather than the skills he bought to the table.

Just look at the K Hunt and I Folau loss leads that the Victorian game is prepared to take for the possible marketing opportunities having those gladiators in their stable. Not as it they will actually make it in their new code, and in many respects the Victorian Code knows that and went in with their eyes well and truly wide open.

 

[trophyhunter]

Maybe he is annoyed with his mate Anthony Mundine crapping on how he is the greatest cross sport athlete around, and is going to switch between Rugby, mungoball and boxing a few times just to prove he is better and shut him up a bit.

 

[Dan54]

I think it a shame he gone, seems to be pretty happy at Chiefs, but if he is doing as he says and going back because of agreement thats the way it is, still seems a not bad bloke to me!!

 

[ChargerWA]

Maybe he is annoyed with his mate Anthony Mundine crapping on how he is the greatest cross sport athlete around, and is going to switch between Rugby, mungoball and boxing a few times just to prove he is better and shut him up a bit.

Well that's something I could respect.

 

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

Stathi wrote a good article on the roar. but the better comment is the first one by "Ryan" which sums it up great.

He was brilliant at league (an oxymoron?) and then left. went to france briefly and began to show a bit of promise. Then he went to the all blacks and to be honest, whilst he was good, his presence in the all black uniform up through the world cup always seemed to me to be a cross between his skills and the PR he brought in. Through the world cup I was never entirely convinced he deserved to be in the 22, but at the same time it was hard to pick out anyone who definitively deserved to oust him.
flash forward to this season and he's a legitimate star. just as he's getting great, he leaves.
so the questions is, what will he be remembered for? a guy with incredible talent and drive who left each sport just as he was becoming a star.
looking forward to 2014 - he returns to NZRU at 29 having been out of rugby of any quality for almost two years. by the time the WC rolls around in england - is he going to start for the all blacks? doubtful.
so what becomes his legacy? a great talent who never stuck with anything at it long enough to be a star. who on the side had delusions of grandeur regarding his boxing career - to which he never fully committed.
wish he'd signed on the line for the NZRU for another 4 years with an escape clause to japan or france, if only to see how good he could have become.

 

[Rob42]

This quote from the SMH.com.au article...

Despite suggestions that Nasser and Williams are difficult to deal with, NZRU officials were full of praise for the way negotiations had been handled.​

''Khoder has been nothing but straight up in his dealings with myself and the NZRU and kept us informed right from day one,'' Hansen said. ''We may not always have agreed but we appreciated his honestly and his transparency.''​

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/its-about-much-more-than-money-for-sonny-bill-20120709-21qxd.html#ixzz2064Awqg5​

...has to be one of the more shocking things I've read lately. Along with Quade's relatively drama-free re-signing with the Reds. What's going on in the world?​