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The chances of Sonny Bill Williams returning to the Sydney Roosters have firmed with the dual code star confirming the idea of playing in the NRL “appeals” to him.
Williams’ future remains up in the air after the Toronto Wolfpack pulled out of this year’s Super League, freeing up several former NRL players.
The Roosters remain the front runners for Williams if he opts to return to the southern hemisphere.
Chairman Nick Politis met with Williams’ manager Khoder Nasser on Wednesday, and while the meeting was pre-arranged there is no doubt Williams would have been discussed.
Williams won a premiership with the club in 2013, and has told Nine News he wouldn’t come back to the competition without first consulting Politis.
“The idea of playing in the NRL has real appeal to me,” Williams told Nine.
“I wouldn’t go down that road without speaking to Nick Politis first.”
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
If Williams was to return, he would need to be registered before the August 2 deadline and spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival in Australia from England.
He would also need clearance from the Australian government, given the closed borders and the fact he is not an Australian citizen.
The Roosters however would be a perfect fit. The club are short on back rowers, with lock Victor Radley and bench utility Sam Verrills both out for the season with knee injuries.
Williams is now 34 and was by no means as destructive for Toronto in the opening rounds of this year as he was when he last played in the NRL in 2014.
But at the very least he would a sound option off the bench for the Tricolours in the run into the finals as they attempt to defend their back-to-back titles.
For the deal to happen, it’s believed at least one of the club’s reserves could be moved on early if a rival club was interested in purchasing them.
There is believed to be some room in their cap, given they lost both Cooper Cronk and Latrell Mitchell at the end of last year.
Mitchell Aubusson, one of Williams’ remaining team-mates from 2013 grand final, backed the move on Wednesday.
“The way he prepares is like something I have never seen. He could probably play until he’s 40,” Mitchell Aubusson said.
“We still use today some of the stuff that he brought in.
“His preparation, his diet – all the things that we take for granted (now) are what he picked up and took to a new level.”
Meanwhile, the Warriors remain the other likely option, after the Dragons joined a number of other clubs in confirming they were not in the market for the All Black.
“I would take Sonny if he was going to add value to our group, no doubt,” Warriors coach Todd Payten said.
“But he is still overseas, he has got to come back, quarantine, train for a couple of weeks.
“You would essentially only get four or five games out of him. I am open to it but I don’t know if he or his management are open to it.”
© AAP
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