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Ask Manly Sea Eagles fans about the loss of Tony ‘T-Rex’ Williams. The general consensus is they were glad to see the back of him when left for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
When he did take the offer to head to Belmore to play under former coach Des Hasler, many believed the giant forward would continue the devastating form that saw him represent New South Wales and Australia over the past two years.
But Williams has not fired. Not even a spark.
After four rounds of the 2013 season the six foot four, 120 kilogram giant has played with little intent.
Williams needed to stand up for his new club from the get-go with the likes of Sam Kasiano, James Graham and Frank Pritchard missing from the pack. Yet he refused to put his giant frame on the line.
Ever seen one of those cartoons where the mighty elephant is scared witless of a little mouse?
This isn’t all Williams’ fault though.
When he first left the Parramatta Eels for Manly, he was offered a whole bunch of money to head over the bridge. A pretty fair deal for someone who had only played a handful of games at the Eels.
Then he linked up with Canterbury at the end of last season, reportedly for as much as $600,000 a year.
How hard has he really ever had to work?
Last Friday at ANZ Stadium was the perfect time for Williams to start earning his contract. In front of 50,000 people and the high-flying South Sydney Rabbitohs, Williams was still a no-show.
The Bulldogs were facing one of the most intimidating forward packs in the game and they had to do it without Kasiano and Graham.
But where was Williams?
If this guy really is a sleeping giant, someone needs to get him off the Stilnox.
But it is only April after all. This is hibernation season for blokes like Williams. Representative season is still months away, so don’t expect too much from T-Rex just yet.
It’s like clockwork really. Put your house on a Williams resurgence leading into the State of Origin series.
But what about the Bulldogs? What about their fans?
The 80-minute experiment clearly hasn’t worked because Williams simply isn’t that kind of player. Surely Canterbury fans would rather see 20 minutes of destruction than 80 minutes of pussyfooting around.
Friday night Canterbury hosts the Eagles in yet another Sydney blockbuster at ANZ Stadium. Coming up against his former club, you would be hoping Williams is ready to unleash.
But don’t bet on it.
If Williams needs to be benched then so be it. But for right now, the Tongan-born giant has received yet another reprieve and will start from the backrow against Manly.
Somewhere down the line though, Williams has to be relegated to the pine. In the long run, it’s for the good of the team.
“I think it’s going to be tough for him going to a new side,” Manly centre Steve Matai told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s not going to happen straight away for him but we all know what he is capable of. I think that’s the most dangerous thing about him.
“He’s only building, it’s only his first year there. He will be better for it next year. You just expect him to get the ball and run at 100 miles per hour. But there’s a lot of different things to it.
“The coach might want him as a ball-player or a decoy. He does go out to play hard. I don’t think he goes out there to have a bludge.”
Could have fooled us, Steve.
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