Sonny Bill Williams breaks silence on phone call that sealed his NRL return
Sonny Bill Williams has broken his silence about his return to the NRL and the phone call from the Roosters that caught him off guard.
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Sonny Bill Williams has broken his silence about his return to rugby league and the NRL with the Sydney Roosters after a phone call from Trent Robinson.
The Wolfpack’s withdrawal has given the Roosters the chance to bring Williams back to the NRL for the rest of the season on a reported $150,000 two to three month deal.
Williams opened up on his pending return, which will see him come back and quarantine with his family in the coming weeks.
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“Everyone knows that it is no secret that I am pretty close with the lads at the Roosters,” Williams told Channel 9s The Today Show.
“I stay in contact with Nick (Politis) and Trent (Robinson) and Trent just gave me a call and inquired about what was happening over here.
“He hit me up and asked if I had a couple of months in me to come back.”
Williams admitted he wasn’t expecting to hear from the Roosters and was not in peak playing condition when the phone rang.
He even admitted to booking a family holiday, which is in stark contrast to slogging it out with the Tri-colours as they hunt for a third straight NRL title.
“To be honest I hadn’t trained for a bit,” Williams said.
“I had been in holiday mode. My wife and I had booked flights for a little European holiday bro.
“It is just the challenge that I get so excited about and it lights that fire inside of me.”
Williams scored 11 tries in 45 games for the Roosters in a two season stint back in 2013-14 with the Roosters winning the title in his first year back in rugby league.
The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie believes the only reason that there is any issues with Sonny Bill Williams’ return is that he is going to the Roosters.
“I’ve got no issue with the rules being bended,” Ritchie said on The Big Sports Breakfast.
“I think we need stars in our game. We want players that kids are going to look up to. We want players that kids are going to want to watch on television and go buy the merchandise.
“I think the only reason this is an issue is because it is the Sydney Roosters. If this was the Warriors no one would care about the salary cap.”
Originally published as Sonny Bill Williams breaks silence on phone call that sealed his NRL return