Browse > Home / NRL Editorials / Sonny Bill Williams walks out on Bulldogs

Sonny Bill Williams walks out on Bulldogs

July 26, 2008

Sonny Bill Williams quits Bulldogs and NRLSources suggest today that prominent Bulldogs and New Zealand Rugby League forward, Sonny Bill Williams has walked out on the Bulldogs club and quit the NRL. Information is still coming to hand - but it’s believed Sonny Bill Williams has actually left the country for reasons unknown and is shortly about to link up with French Rugby Union club Toulon.

Williams apparently left Australia yesterday without letting team mates or officials at the Bulldogs know.

The star Rugby League forward has a contract with the Bulldogs in the NRL for another 4 season and the walk-out will surely see a legal battle erupt.

Bulldogs SEO Todd Greenberg said: “”I’ve had QC’s look at his contract and there is absolutely no get-out clause.”

”I’m shocked to hear of this situation with Sonny Bill Williams because I saw him Oatley at 7.30am today.’’

Williams was selected in the Bulldogs side to face the Dragons on Monday night.

While it’s only early stages and information will continue to come to light regarding Sonny Bill Williams and his quitting the Bulldogs and NRL; its hard not to speculate as to why the star backrower as not only left the Bulldogs but walked out on the NRL in 2008. Since linking with new player manager Khoder Nasser (who also manages Anthony Mundine) SBW has been keenly chasing Bulldogs management for an upgraded NRL contract and/or the option to leave the club should demands not be met.

Update: Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg has just told ABC radio that Sonny Bill Williams’ manager Khoder Nasser has now confirmed the star NRL Rugby League player has left the country.

“I’ve just got off the phone to Sonny’s manager Khoder Nasser and he has confirmed to me that Sonny has left the country,” Greenberg said.

“Quite simply, if Sonny intends to play overseas, we’ll be looking to take out an injunction which will effectively stop him playing in France, England or anywhere else he intends to do it.”

We are getting a lot of feedback and comments from Bulldogs fans; feel free to comment below or join in the detailed conversation on the NRL News Forums page, by Clicking Here.

Share/Save/Bookmark



Written by NRL News · Filed Under NRL Editorials 

Comments

39 Responses to “Sonny Bill Williams walks out on Bulldogs”

  1. jacinta on July 26th, 2008 8:05 pm

    NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!….. : (

  2. Clare Anderson on July 26th, 2008 8:07 pm

    Sue the ******* for everything hes got!!, he must be the biggest hypercrite there is. He sure hasnt got any BALLS only liked it when the bulldogs were winning, I thought willie mason was a money hungry assole but… hes not so bad compared to this *****!

  3. vicki g on July 26th, 2008 8:13 pm

    SBW is fast losing the plot, and I blame his management. To choose this person as a manager was an act of stupidity, someone with no knowledge or passion for the game, with bad advice to go with it.
    Wake up SBW, and be careful who you bag in the future about loyalty. Time to grow up and give teh Dogs value for money and repay their faith thru all your injuries

  4. Ian on July 26th, 2008 8:16 pm

    Aw shucks, now we have to come up with another player to top the list of the most overated player of the last decade!!!!!!!!!!

  5. maysaa on July 26th, 2008 8:24 pm

    i hate sbw now he is a hypricrite and hes a dog. he dogged the dogs

  6. lisa on July 26th, 2008 8:26 pm

    OMG NOOO WAY SONNYY U CNT LEAVE I HOPE ALL THIS MEADIA INFORMATION IS WRONG AND ITS A MIS UNDERSTANDING

  7. Kamal on July 26th, 2008 8:34 pm

    I saw sonny bill on moday he was with khodr nasser at the boxa bar,i told him not to leave the bulldogs because hes our best player and khodr nasser was giving me the biggest dirty and sonny bill full went shy like he regretted what he was doing.

  8. Fred on July 26th, 2008 8:35 pm

    How disappointing he sneaked away like a cur. At least have the guts to stand up and be honest. It is his fault and his fault alone, not his manager’s. He makes his own decisions and he has to try and live with his conscience. I hope his lack of honesty is paid back in kalma.

  9. Peter H on July 26th, 2008 8:35 pm

    Allthough SBW has let down his fans, its a business decision and nobody can blame players such as gasnier and williams for putting thier best interests first. They probaly wont get a chance to make this sort of money again. The blame is not with the players but with the administration running the game itself. Unless they make some radical changes the NRL will slowly dissapear. This has hapenned before and it was only the great Jack Gibson who was able rescue the game from a certain death. Sport is like any business it needs cashflow to survive. Unless they can learn to adapt with the times there is little chance for the future of the best rugby league competition in the world.

  10. Me on July 26th, 2008 8:49 pm

    yeah!!!!!!!! Sonny come play for Manu Samoa Uso lol

  11. charlie carroll on July 26th, 2008 9:12 pm

    I’ve been a dogs fan since i could walk and talk ,and a worse year for the club i can’t recall in my 39+yrs whats going wrong that so many high profile player’s want out ? Not since pay/dymock/Mckracken and co left for parra can i recall such drama ! ! ! Young blokes always make wrong choices in life and this may be one SBW comes to regret in the long term,but lets face it for every fan SBW looses by his actions today he will still gain two in whatever venture he chooses,because of his gifted abilities,as well as twice+the pay packet and that may buy him his conscience back but unfortunately not trust or faith in his integrety.BUT the ARL/NRL really have to stop limiting individuals earning potential on the premise of an even competition, there is always some team disadvantaged one way or another be it from injury/ability etc.I’ve spent $600-00 on framed picture/signed boot of SBW thinking this would be a long term clubman and i must say if this is what is really going on i’m a little p@*%ed but still it’s money well spent, as they say it’s better to have loved and lost than never loved at all ! ! ! and there is always next year.nb: is Maitua next ! ? ! Lets hope we can keep Ben Barba/Dan Harrison.

  12. vicki g on July 26th, 2008 9:46 pm

    Business decision?. No, a spoilt ungrateful act by a person who has no thought for his responsibilities. A decent manager would not have been a party to this, and would have ensured his contract was ended in the right way if he could not stay for whatever reason. I have said a few times the Dogs should have him on the old pay by the game contract, no play no pay, I wonder if his *injuries* would have been so many.
    Where has he considered his fans or the game in this action? A game and club that have made him, along with his talent, a wealthy young man. And there is part of the problem, too much money, too little responsibility to go with it.
    I would be ashamed of him right now if he were my son, for not being a man and sneaking around. This has not been a last minute decision, this has been a planned act.
    I hope BOTH the Dogs and the NRL combine to prevent him playing anywhere until his contract is finished, and I then hope the NRL refuses to allow him to play again in this country, and while the Warriors are part of the NRL, in NZ either. Time to take a stand.

  13. Nababalon on July 26th, 2008 10:28 pm

    let him go if he wants, The man deserves more money & if he wants to leave the dogs to go to france who blames him- the nrl is turning sour. Good Luck sonny & i hope you Blast it in france.

  14. lisa on July 26th, 2008 10:31 pm

    sonny bill was my favourtie player in nrl and im a big doggies fan i cnt believe u could just walk out im still hopping that its not true but my hopes are going down im really dissapointed i loveD sonny bill but now……………

    hope u come backk

  15. me on July 26th, 2008 10:32 pm

    sonny u were da best until 2 day. u will regret your decision and lose your fans
    i no that i was one of ur biggest fans and now i m not too sure da doggiz r da best team in nrl and im sure they will continue with or with out u in da team I LUV DA DOGGIZ 4 NOW AND 4EVA
    p.s i luvd u sonny
    now i hav 2 say goodbye

  16. craig burke on July 26th, 2008 11:12 pm

    shame on you sonny,big tough man with the big tattoos no just a gutless trader

  17. craig burke on July 26th, 2008 11:16 pm

    sonny bill williams is a disloyal spoilt c!@t,

  18. Sonny Bill on July 27th, 2008 12:14 am

    the bulldogs management and the nrl are to blame for this incident. i Khoder Nasser…. i mean sonny bill williams, place no blame on my manager Khoder Nasser, who is the best manager in the world. and i want the public to make sure that they do not blame me… i mean my fantastic manager.

  19. moh on July 27th, 2008 12:17 am

    You &^%$ (*&*))*&* &**^%^()) __(&(^*%&$^ $&%&^( %*(^*&%&%#%
    I want to &^(&(^%& %*%(&^*& _)()*& $^$*&(*&() )(&)(&)(& !!##%#^6.
    Thank you …..

  20. moh on July 27th, 2008 12:19 am

    Actully ,Sonny you stink …thank you …..loyalty my %##
    And thank u again.

  21. chenea on July 27th, 2008 12:24 am

    Well well well. How the tables have turned. With this laugh and the most over rated tag, surely the roosters will be loving this-big willie will be raring to go! SBW is an immature hypocrite. Grow up, harden up and enjoy no name thugby. NRL is better off without precious whingers like you.

  22. thisozzyisbolly on July 27th, 2008 1:19 am

    good on you sonny bill. forget about the bad press. i understant why you didn tell anyone you are copping enuff frm media already.
    do wots right for you and your family take the $$$$$$$$$$$ why its on offer.

  23. Aj on July 27th, 2008 1:27 am

    Sonny bill who?? LOL what a dog

  24. Meli on July 27th, 2008 2:13 am

    Forget about the bad press, yeh, do that, cause he didnt drink drive, he didnt make an ass of himself in a toilet, that was all the medias fault, they just kept picking on him. He is a talented player,but has no clue about how to behave and no way he deserved more money. How many people earn that when they work 7 days a week? He and lots of his mates have lost touch with the real world with their earnings for playing a game. League lost me when Superleague came in, I never attended a match, but have been going again for the last few years and thought he was a great player.
    Look how stupid Mundine comes across, and he picked the same manager? Tells me lots.

  25. Rene on July 27th, 2008 2:32 am

    He is a young adult! You tell me you never did anything stupid b4? give him a break and let him learn =)

  26. Rod on July 27th, 2008 7:48 am

    SBW. OMG! What a shame… There’s no doubt that Sonny Bill is a supreme athlete, magnificent League player .. etc. But this is a terrible tragedy all round. I’m not a Bulldogs fan, but I feel extremely for the Doggies’ fans indeed. What about his team mates as well? At 22, I think he’s been terribly misguided (by his current management obviously ) - but also the NRL commentators (i.e. Gus Gould) and other observers, continually telling SBW over and over that he’s the greatest revelation the game has ever seen in it’s entire history. What a shame. What about those poor Uralla Tigers (jnr football club) kids on the footy show who recently won the “Win Sonny Bill for a Day” competition?? Is he going to still honour that commitment as well? If he doesn’t honour that and break the hearts of those little kids then I think that’s about as low as it gets. At the end of the day, that is something you just can NOT do - break a promise to kids - they are our future and deserve our commitment. SBW? Silly Bloody W#nker? Or an unfortunate by-product of severe misguidance and greedy agents? Tremendous athlete, tremendous potential - a real shame….

  27. winterystorm on July 27th, 2008 11:43 am

    what happened to not criticising before we get the whole story, including sbw’s side of things directly from him, there has to be something going on at the dogs. can’t keep blaiming the players.

    walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before judging.

  28. shawty zeinab on July 27th, 2008 2:20 pm

    listen sonny bill do wat u have to do. i will always love u no matter wat i swear.,
    but i will miss u. just rember the people that loved u and u are a good player.
    i loveeeeeee uuuu sbw il misssssss u

    good luck

  29. Naian on July 27th, 2008 4:15 pm

    Yeah Sonny,

    good on ya man, all the best,

    now lets see an all Polynesian NRL team, All Aboriginal Team, and all Melanesian side too,

    time to wake up Ozzie NRL

  30. najah on July 27th, 2008 7:20 pm

    i dont blame sonny bill williams for leaving the club..if you were in his shoes and were on a 500 grand salary and knew that if you played in another country for another club and could earn double or even triple..you wouldnt have to think twice you would just leave.. so if he left than tough luck.. the only thing i can criticise him on is how he left.. i think he should have at least finished off playing this season then leave..butt ohh wells.. goodluck to him :)

  31. Samoan_loyalty_to_my_aiga on July 27th, 2008 8:31 pm

    Ppl seem to miss the point. What he did was wrong and that goes without saying, Loyalty is the most overused term in RL. Ask Hodgson,Reynoldson,Ryles,Ben Harris,Cameron Phelps,Jamie Lyon what it means and they will tell you the same. PPL dont understand polynesian culture and its to never put anything before your family, dont blame his manager as hes only trying to get the best deal for him. If he doesnt want to play, so be it, let him go, would there be so much fuss if it was Alan Tongue? Stop trying to compare what ppl earn in a week to what footballers get, they dont risk their health for ppls enjoyment. Its easy for clubs to hide behind a contract whne it suits them but play salary cap restrictions when players are on the outer. RL cannot generate enough money to keep it afloat in the long run & rich clubs from the N.Hemisphere will always have the money to back them up. Its globalization, we are a global village & companies will pay top dollar for top athletes. Accept it for what it is and just move on. BTW, im a dogs supporter and im disappointed, but no man is bigger than the club.

  32. Shirlz on July 28th, 2008 10:54 am

    SBW, yes he did do the wrong thing by walking out but his management team was responsible for sorting out his contract! His managment team is to blame for this, not SBW! His management team should have noticed that SBW was not happy and sorted it out! And look what it’s resulted in? Yes, SBW making his own decision and walking out!!! Good on you SBW!! Stand up for what you believe in Man!!! And look for another management team who has the balls to stand up for your needs!!!!

  33. Ravo on July 28th, 2008 3:57 pm

    As a non-bull dogs supporter I find it all a bit sad this SBW Saga. Sonny just following the money (for whatever reason) won’t ultimately make you happy. One day perhaps when you are a little older than 22 you will understand that being true to yourself…..really being true to yourself is about being honest with everyone else , disregarding fans, friends and systems that have supported you is wrong and no amount of justification will make it right .

    The harsh reality is that you will be forgotten much sooner than you think….the ones who are remembered are the ones who follow there heart…..and do the right thing…..by themselves AND everyone else……..just a couple that come to my mind…….Reg Gasnier, Dawn Fraser, Lionel Rose, Bradley Clyde, Poppa Clay, Norm Provan, Clive Churchill, Eric Simms etc etc etc etc and many more.

    Good Luck to you anyway………

  34. Ramond on July 28th, 2008 11:27 pm

    This is redic… Look at the past 12 months or so, what SBW has gone through in and around the NRL, no wonder he has walked out. Dont kid yourself, there are many others in the NRL would do exactly the same, but dont have the skill to back it up. Let him go…. And leave it be, until we hear from him as to why he has made this decision, it will all come to light shortly. He is a superb player and deserves a break from this constant agro that he lives with. I’d like too hear from the doctor at the club who said his knee was knackered and suggested there was only a short future…bad influences made him sign a 5 year deal… No player of his calibre would do that otherwise. Good Luck to you mate, ignore the hypocrits… How much do you think Joey Johns got from the game and is getting now, is’nt he a real advert for the game…Please!!! He lied to this country most of his career and has not got half the abuse your getting….. Go for it, get it while you can… Best of Luck

  35. Pw on July 29th, 2008 10:46 pm

    SBW agreed to take a big paycut to open the salary cap to keep willie mason, willie tonga and mark omellay at the club, signed the contract. When those players left did the bulldogs offer him back the $150,000 pay cut he took … NO.. they put it in their pockets. So who betrayed who? Anyone one of you take a 25% paycut to help the club out and then see the club pocket it? He tried to get an updated contract earlier this year, bulldogs wouldnt consider it. He made plenty of media statements saying he would consider all contract options including rugby and league, did the bulldogs or the NRL take notice and take him seriously.. NO. He is a 22 year old youngster who was deserted by his friends/role models, screwed by his club and now is being roasted in the media because he did what most young men do when the pressure gets too much.. walked away. Gallop is an idiot, threaten him to try and scare other players to stay.. bad idea. How about you give him a season or two of rugby, which i dont think he’ll like, and then welcome him back.. no lets burn all bridges and start waving random threats around. I can understand the doggies supporters being upset, but if hes not happy like he has been sugguesting for some time, then hes not goin to put everything into the jersey and the club that he could be. Wouldnt it be better to let him sort himself out however he has too, let him have his say and then decide? Dont beat the young fella down just yet.

  36. Ripo on November 22nd, 2008 11:15 pm

    Good man you made a premo choice bro nice!!!!

  37. Ripo on November 22nd, 2008 11:16 pm

    LOVE YOU SONNY KEAP IT UP FOLLOW UR HEART BRO
    xxRIPOxx

  38. Elzz on March 25th, 2009 9:42 pm

    SONNY BILL WILLIAMS IS THE MAN FOR LEAVING DOGGIESS… SICKC**T .. I LUV YA

  39. sbw on July 2nd, 2009 9:01 pm

    gett over it, its his life, his choice, and if he’s made the wrong choice then its his problem.

    love ya.. xx

Got something to say?