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Worth a thread of its own, I think:
Roosters coach Trent Robinson expects Sonny Bill Williams to be on a flight bound for Sydney as early as next week.
The three-time premiership-winning coach is expecting to know whether Border Force will green light his path to Bondi in the coming days. Roosters chairman Nick Politis and Williams' long-time manager Khoder Nasser are ironing out the finer details of a deal that will deliver the cross-code superstar back to the club where he won a title in 2013.
In Robinson's eyes, Williams was never a legitimate chance of joining a rival club. Once a legendary Rooster, always a legendary Rooster.
"He knows our people and our style of play. Things haven’t changed. We’ve evolved that and he knows that by watching us," Robinson said on Friday. "He also feels our style of play still. He knows the people in the place, a lot of our senior players were his teammates. And he’s a Rooster.
"He’s going to add value in some really key areas. They’re the reasons we would like to have him here."
Some pundits have questioned whether Williams will be a valuable addition to the Roosters' set-up, having not played in the NRL for six years but Robinson harbours no such doubts.
"I’m not going to go into it all but we’ve talked about all of that. We’ve talked about every bit of that and been really honest with each other," he said.
"Couple of things - I know the value of him and the professionalism and the mentality of him as a person.
"And then we understand that it’s a big task, that he’s a guy that likes taking on big challenges and also I won’t be capping him and what his ability to do things may be for this season.
"We’re looking forward to the challenge of adding value. We’re not looking for anything spectacular although he’s capable of it. We’re looking for a guy to add value to our squad."
Robinson also has no doubts about Williams' physical condition, declaring him ready and able to quarantine in a Sydney hotel room for 14 days before immediately featuring in the final four or five games of the season.
"It’s a task that other people have done. We’ve seen Luke (Thompson) from the Bulldogs come and do that and I’m confident in the mentality and the ability of Sonny," Robinson said. "Then it’s about our management of him during that time and himself and then, obviously, how we prepare him post that. But that’s all after a few steps take place but we have to be prepared so we’ve started that."
At this stage, Robinson does not expect Williams to stay a Rooster beyond this year's finals.
"None of those discussions have taken place," Robinson said when asked if Williams could play on in the NRL in 2021.
"I would say the focus is on going back to Toronto for 2021. Obviously they’re waiting on a ruling with Super League as to what they look like for 2021 so I think those players want to continue to honour those contracts
Roosters coach Trent Robinson expects Sonny Bill Williams to be on a flight bound for Sydney as early as next week.
The three-time premiership-winning coach is expecting to know whether Border Force will green light his path to Bondi in the coming days. Roosters chairman Nick Politis and Williams' long-time manager Khoder Nasser are ironing out the finer details of a deal that will deliver the cross-code superstar back to the club where he won a title in 2013.
In Robinson's eyes, Williams was never a legitimate chance of joining a rival club. Once a legendary Rooster, always a legendary Rooster.
"He knows our people and our style of play. Things haven’t changed. We’ve evolved that and he knows that by watching us," Robinson said on Friday. "He also feels our style of play still. He knows the people in the place, a lot of our senior players were his teammates. And he’s a Rooster.
"He’s going to add value in some really key areas. They’re the reasons we would like to have him here."
Some pundits have questioned whether Williams will be a valuable addition to the Roosters' set-up, having not played in the NRL for six years but Robinson harbours no such doubts.
"I’m not going to go into it all but we’ve talked about all of that. We’ve talked about every bit of that and been really honest with each other," he said.
"Couple of things - I know the value of him and the professionalism and the mentality of him as a person.
"And then we understand that it’s a big task, that he’s a guy that likes taking on big challenges and also I won’t be capping him and what his ability to do things may be for this season.
"We’re looking forward to the challenge of adding value. We’re not looking for anything spectacular although he’s capable of it. We’re looking for a guy to add value to our squad."
Robinson also has no doubts about Williams' physical condition, declaring him ready and able to quarantine in a Sydney hotel room for 14 days before immediately featuring in the final four or five games of the season.
"It’s a task that other people have done. We’ve seen Luke (Thompson) from the Bulldogs come and do that and I’m confident in the mentality and the ability of Sonny," Robinson said. "Then it’s about our management of him during that time and himself and then, obviously, how we prepare him post that. But that’s all after a few steps take place but we have to be prepared so we’ve started that."
At this stage, Robinson does not expect Williams to stay a Rooster beyond this year's finals.
"None of those discussions have taken place," Robinson said when asked if Williams could play on in the NRL in 2021.
"I would say the focus is on going back to Toronto for 2021. Obviously they’re waiting on a ruling with Super League as to what they look like for 2021 so I think those players want to continue to honour those contracts
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