August 18, 2008

THE Sonny Bill Williams saga has come to a predictable, yet tortured, end with the Bulldogs accepting a $750,000 cash settlement in return for the release of their former star.

"We've put a full stop today on the Sonny Bill Williams file, we've placed this chapter into the club's history and archives," Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

"As far as I'm concerned, the book on Sonny Bill Williams is now closed."

A little over three weeks after walking out on the Bulldogs less than one year into a five-year deal, Williams is now free to forge ahead with a career in French rugby union.

His first game as a free man will be in Toulon's pre-season friendly against Saracens on Thursday morning (AEST), where he is expected to line-up in the centres as he continues his crash-course in the 15-man game.

While the journey featured threats of arrest, seizure of assets and even jail time for the runaway footballer, Williams' bid to escape the clutches of the Bulldogs ended the only way it ever could - with the NRL club agreeing to a price for his release.

The club had forced Williams' hand by successfully gaining a court injunction last week preventing him from playing with Toulon while under contract with the Bulldogs.

"The club's received a significant payout, one of the biggest in the history of Australian sport," Greenberg said.

"I'm happy that we've got a full stop on it, there's no winners in this saga.

"The Bulldogs have lost a player they've developed since the age of 16, one of the best players to come through our club. The game has lost one of its significant profiles and for Sonny Bill himself, he's made some decisions that he'll have to live with for the rest of his life.

"There's no fairytale ending at the end of this, there's no one running around the Bulldogs club yelling and screaming with delight. This is actually a relatively sad day."

Williams' associate and boxing champion Anthony Mundine reportedly gathering the funds required to gain the release.

Mundine also claimed his management company would foot the bill, which he believed was a bargain.

"I was willing to go a lot more, it's all good, 750 we can stop there," Mundine said.

The settlement also put an end to any court action by the Bulldogs towards Williams' manager Khoder Nasser or Toulon for enticing a breach of contract.

While the Bulldogs closed the door on Williams, their former prized asset could leave a lasting legacy, with the club struggling to replace his sizeable $400,000 chunk in next year's salary cap.

The club is believed to be close to confirming the signing of Brisbane winger Darius Boyd, but the Broncos youngster won't come close to matching Williams' pay-packet.

Asked if the club could be left playing short of the $4.1 million cap in 2009, Greenberg said: "Could be.

"That's not our plan, we'd like to be able to spend that sort of money.

"There's no ready-made fix to actually spend that money at the moment.

"We'll be looking for players, we're in the market now."

August 19, 2008

SONNY Bill Williams cannot use the NRL as a bargaining chip when he negotiates a contract after his current French rugby deal expires.

In a major win for the Bulldogs, they have been successful in having a clause inserted that bans Williams from playing in the NRL until 2013. The clause has widespread ramifications.

It potentially strips hundreds of thousands of dollars from any future deals negotiated because Williams will not be able to threaten a return to the NRL as a bargaining tool.

It could also be potentially disastrous if Williams fails to succeed at rugby union, leaving him only England's Super League to play in when his deal with Toulon ends in 2010.

The former Bulldog has been left financially reeling after being forced to shell out $750,000 in compensation to the Bulldogs. The size of the payout is significant.

When powerbroker Graham Richardson first began negotiating a deal with Bulldogs chairman George Peponis and chief executive Todd Greenberg, his starting offer was $200,000.

The Bulldogs were insulted. When $750,000 was finally agreed, Williams and manager Khoder Nasser asked for more time to find the funds.

Their difficulty raising the amount revealed millionaire French owner Mourad Boudjellal did not come to their rescue, forcing the runaway footballer to scrounge the amount from his management company jointly owned by Anthony Mundine and Nasser.

Eventually the money was paid into the Bulldogs' bank account late Monday.

"The club has accepted a significant payout, the likes of which have never been seen in Australian sport," Greenberg said.

"We are pleased this chapter of the club's history is in the archive and we can put a fullstop on Sonny Bill Williams."

After receiving the money the Bulldogs went to the NSW Supreme Court and applied for the court injunction to be dissolved.

It frees Williams to legally begin his rugby career, where he hopes to play for New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup. He is unlikely to play in the NRL again.

Even before the clause was included, NRL chief executive David Gallop had indicated to the Bulldogs that they would not register Williams with a rival club during the time of his supposed contract.

Already bitten, the Dogs still felt comfortable only when the clause was written into their own deal.

Williams initially baulked at the insertion of the clause but Greenberg described it as a "deal breaker".

"That was something that we were not prepared to negotiate on," he said.

Williams and his supporters will argue he has no plans to return to the NRL, anyway. But that was incidental to the Bulldogs.

Given money has driven much of the motivation since the split, the clause's greater power is preventing him using the NRL as a bargaining chip in future contract negotiations.

By lessening his negotiating pool, it potentially costs him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sonny's French holiday in strife
November 05, 2008 12:00am

SONNY Bill Williams' future at French rugby club Toulon is under a cloud following reports his Polynesian teammates are threatening to fly home if besieged coach Tana Umaga is sacked.

Players are said to have organised a secret meeting with a series of text messages to sound their warning and threatened to strike. That turn of events has coincided with former Wallabies coach John Connolly joining the club this week as a consultant to review its disappointing start.

Connolly's arrival has increased speculation former All Blacks star Umaga is on the verge of being shown the door, with Connolly to take over. "Knuckles'' has previously coached French club Stade Francais.

"Polynesians threaten for their part, in the event of the sacking of Tana Umaga, to take the first flight to their country of origin,'' French daily Midi Olympique claimed.

Umaga was the driving force behind Toulon signing the former Bulldogs NRL star in controversial circumstances this year. And Williams is also one of the players at Toulon with a proud Polynesian heritage.

But he has played precious little football after fracturing his tibia and is due to make his long-awaited comeback in the next few weeks.

Toulon's playing roster also includes former Penrith Panthers winger Luke Rooney, ex-Wallaby halfback Matt Henjak and All Black backrower Jerry Collins. Pressure again mounted on Umaga after the big-spending Toulon were thrashed 42-20 by Montauban recently.

They now sit third last on the French Top 14 table with only two wins and one draw from nine starts, one point ahead of second-last placed Castres.

"In short, it's no joking matter in Toulon and the situation could escalate,'' Midi Olympique said.

The situation led club president and self-made multi-millionaire Mourad Boudjellal to make a point of stating his support for Umaga last weekend. History has shown that is not always a good sign.

Toulon has a week off this week and Midi Olympique said it will not be an easy break for the president or his staff.

"They have an obligation to find a solution otherwise the threat of strike action may be strengthened,'' the newspaper warned. The Independent newspaper's Peter Bills savaged the state of affairs at Toulon after watching their most recent loss.

"Umaga's team was hopeless against Montauban,'' he wrote. "In their 100th year, this shambles is a sad indictment of a club suddenly flushed with cash by the arrival of a non-rugby businessman obsessed with signing star names, most from the past.''

He described Boudjellal as a business professional who doesn't know anything about how to run a rugby club professionally. "One wonders how much longer Tana Umaga is likely to survive in an increasingly desperate atmosphere,'' Bills said.

April 07, 2009

Nine months ago Anthony Mundine paid a reported $500,000 to buy Sonny Bill Williams his freedom from the Canterbury Bulldogs. Now it's payback time.

Khoder Nasser, manager to both Mundine and Williams, informed the Australian National Boxing Federation that Williams would be fighting on the undercard to Mundine's world title fight against IBO champion Daniel Geale in Brisbane next month.

To fight on the May 27 program, Williams would have to be registered with the ANBF. Federation president Alan Moore said Nasser was emphatic that Williams would be fighting.

"He will have to pass a medical examination and a blood test," Moore said.

"But this is the first step towards being registered."

It is also the first step in Williams repaying the $500,000 Mundine reimbursed the Bulldogs when his "brother" walked out of Belmore last July to play rugby union in France.

While the Mundine camp has been unusually quiet about Williams's professional boxing debut, in the hope of sparking ticket sales with an announcement closer to the event, The Man has said it would be a promotional tool for his KO To Drugs campaign.

Sceptical boxing insiders believe the real reason is to boost Mundine's waning popularity and repay the $500,000 through pay-for-view and ticket sales, of which Mundine nets 60c in the dollar.

Mundine's marketability peaked when he fought Danny Green in May 2006 but he has refused to drop his pay-for-view rates since, even increasing the $1500 he charged pubs and clubs that night to $2750 for his 2007 fight with Sam Soliman.

That has led to a backlash, with many clubs refusing to show Mundine's bouts. One of the largest of these, Sydney's 25,000-member North Ryde RSL, said it might make an exception for the Geale fight if Williams was on the card.

"Mundine hasn't done us any favours in the past," the club's marketing manager, Michael Borg said.

"We buy all the fights for our members, except his. He charges twice to four times what other fights cost.

"And that's real fights with real fighters, not nobodies, so it's hard to justify paying what he wants.

"Mundine is ridiculously over-priced and the thing is, he's not the drawcard he thinks he is.

"In saying that, we would review our policy if Sonny Bill Williams was fighting. Depending on the price, we'd have to look at it."

Queensland boxing promoter Angelo Di Carlo agreed Mundine needed the drawing power of Williams.

"I think he's finding it harder to draw a crowd because he hasn't stepped up, certainly not at middleweight," he said.

"I don't know if people want to see him.

"I heard about Sonny Bill fighting on the undercard and immediately you ask if it's a publicity stunt but everyone knows he owes Mundine.

"They haven't found an opponent for him yet but they won't have any problem bringing over some big Kiwi who he'll be able to beat.

"The big question everyone is asking is how he'll get out of his contract in France."

The answer to that appears to be in the fine print of the new one-year contract with French club Toulon that Nasser negotiated on his behalf two weeks ago.

Given that Nasser finalised plans to hire the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the Geale fight at around the same time, it is logical to assume he inserted a clause clearing the way for Williams to take part.

Or, failing that, perhaps Williams will just do what he has done with contracts in the past: simply walk away and let Mundine pick up the pieces.

"The Man" is an inept fool, just a big "yawn". As for Sonny, he is a "puppet yawn". If anyone out there is going to make an assumption that I am a racist well think again. Racism is evil. I absolutely love to see indigenous people succeed. In any given situation my bias is, if anything, skewed towards the indigenous person, however, this bloke is just an antogonist and a dangerous one. However, maybe I should not take him seriously whatsoever.