Sonny Bill Williams signs with the Roosters for 2013

[ningnangnong]

Spwn, I swear you just completely ignored dukey's post... or missed the point. Haha. :laugh:

 

[Kaz]

GI cops nothing

He copped a spear tackle the other day. :tongue_smilie:

he also avoided a contract by claiming planes don't fly when it's raining

It's a funny 'story' about the planes not flying in the rain, but I don't believe a word of it.

IMO: Gee made it up, so he didn't come across as a complete dickhead for not getting G.I's signature on a contract.

Yep both SBW & GI reneged on a contract, the difference is SBW SIGNED his contact months beforehand & walked out on his actual team-mates.

Another reason to hate the Storm, they could have put a stop to GI going to Souths, as they released him from his final 2 years at the club, to join the Broncos because he was 'homesick'.

 

[Kimlo]

Spwn, I swear you just completely ignored dukey's post... or missed the point. Haha. :laugh:

How so? Yes they're separate in and of themselves, but if you're going to be someone that bags SBW as a bad person then you can't be a GI fan. SBW has a hugely negative vibe from a lot of people, such as "Yeah good player but such a dickhead", with GI it's just "Yeah great player".

Basically what I'm saying is, players who have done a lot worse have been well and truly forgiven but SBW forever has hate directed at him for something that happened a very long time ago which while a dickhead move, was in actuality just a contract dispute, nothing illegal took place. It just seems that because he gets so much love from certain sections of the media there needs to be an opposite negative attention to even it out. SBW is a ratings magnet, that much can't be denied and he makes the most of his popularity to earn a lot of money. Good on him, that's what any smart person would do.

 

[Coxy]

Be clear. SBW didn't just walk out on his employer. HE WALKED OUT ON HIS MATES. Not a word, just disappeared. That's fucked. A good bloke doesn't do that.

 

[Kaz]

Basically what I'm saying is, players who have done a lot worse have been well and truly forgiven but SBW forever has hate directed at him for something that happened a very long time ago which while a dickhead move, was in actuality just a contract dispute

A contract that he willingly signed on 9 March 2007 ,which was for 5 years 18 months later left the country in the dead of night.

 

[Kimlo]

Be clear. SBW didn't just walk out on his employer. HE WALKED OUT ON HIS MATES. Not a word, just disappeared. That's ****ed. A good bloke doesn't do that.

It was so many years ago, people make mistakes should we forever hold them to it?

 

[Porthoz]

It was so many years ago, people make mistakes should we forever hold them to it?

Ask a Bulldogs fan...

Besides, it goes to show his character and personality, which automatically makes him "not a good bloke"!

 

[Kimlo]

Yes but we're not Bulldogs fans so we don't have a reason to hold a grudge forever. I will forever despise Ashton Sims but that's only because I'm a Broncos fan :laugh:

And no I disagree, it doesn't show his character and personality, what happened 5-6 years ago happened back then. People make mistakes and people can genuinely change with age and maturity.

 

[Nashy]

If he's changed with maturity, he would have realised his manager, and the company he keeps are a bunch of fucking twats.

 

[Big Pete]

It's not just about what happened 5 years ago but about the company that was around him and supported him during that time that are still there playing a big role in him as a package.

The way he markets himself also opens him up to ridicule.

I also think a tall poppy syndrome has surrounded SBW since he entered first grade and he never did anything to win the critics over. You either loved him for his offloads or ability to smash people or you loathed him because it all seemed like a lot of flash and no substance mixed with a lot of time spent on the sideline. While everybody was blowing smoke up his ass calling him one of the best players of all time before he had really achieved anything.

 

[dukey]

Yes but we're not Bulldogs fans so we don't have a reason to hold a grudge forever. I will forever despise Ashton Sims but that's only because I'm a Broncos fan :laugh:

And no I disagree, it doesn't show his character and personality, what happened 5-6 years ago happened back then. People make mistakes and people can genuinely change with age and maturity.

I don't see any sign of him maturing at all. He's still as egomaniacal as ever. He's a mini-Mundine. I'm really excited to see the Dogs and their fans unload on him on Friday night.

 

[Kimlo]

It's not just about what happened 5 years ago but about the company that was around him and supported him during that time that are still there playing a big role in him as a package.

The way he markets himself also opens him up to ridicule.

I also think a tall poppy syndrome has surrounded SBW since he entered first grade and he never did anything to win the critics over. You either loved him for his offloads or ability to smash people or you loathed him because it all seemed like a lot of flash and no substance mixed with a lot of time spent on the sideline. While everybody was blowing smoke up his ass calling him one of the best players of all time before he had really achieved anything.

Yeah but so what? That same management team has made made him hugely popular, no other player gets media attention like he does so they're doing something right. Hodges is mates with Mundine but that hasn't turned him into some dick towards the club, he's still a great clubs man.

I do agree he markets himself in a way that would open him to ridicule but that's mostly because he can, not many players could pull it off, he can and it makes him bucket loads of cash. There's definitely some tall poppy syndrome because while he's a very good player, he was always given way more coverage than equally great or better players which gives him the overrated feeling. As far as individual athletes go, he's super talented, he's played at the highest levels in both league and union and is also a premiership winner, he's also done well in his limited boxing appearances in which he's yet to lose.

 

[Kimlo]

I don't see any sign of him maturing at all. He's still as egomaniacal as ever. He's a mini-Mundine. I'm really excited to see the Dogs and their fans unload on him on Friday night.

As am I, I can't wait. What has SBW done in the last few years though? I don't really see any signs of him being an egomaniac, seems that CH 9 jerking off about him and doing that stupid voice over thing is what makes it seem so. Make no mistake, I completely hated that voice over shit and I hate how CH 9 always goes on and on about him like he's the best thing to ever grace rugby league when guys like Slater, Thurston, Lockyer got no where near that kind of love but I don't think that's a fault of SBW. That's just CH 9 knowing how insanely popular and polarising a guy like SBW is so they know he brings in huge ratings.

 

[Coxy]

It was so many years ago, people make mistakes should we forever hold them to it?

If a mate of mine up and left the country, leaving me in the lurch, without so much as a phone call to explain what's going on, yeah, I'd wash my hands of them.

 

[Kimlo]

Well I guess that's where we are different. I'm much more willing to forgive if someone actually changes. I don't believe in holding grudges forever.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Yes but we're not Bulldogs fans so we don't have a reason to hold a grudge forever. I will forever despise Ashton Sims but that's only because I'm a Broncos fan :laugh:

And no I disagree, it doesn't show his character and personality, what happened 5-6 years ago happened back then. People make mistakes and people can genuinely change with age and maturity.

 

[Big Pete]

Yeah but so what? That same management team has made made him hugely popular, no other player gets media attention like he does so they're doing something right. Hodges is mates with Mundine but that hasn't turned him into some dick towards the club, he's still a great clubs man.

Nasser didn't make him popular, SBW was already one of the biggest names in Australian & New Zealand sport before he ever came into the picture.

Khoder linked up with SBW right before Williams fled to Toulon. Hence, the general perception was that SBW had been negatively influenced by his manager.

Hodges might be friends with him but he doesn't make a big point of it unlike SBW. Even then, Hodges isn't a good example because outside of Brisbane he's one of the most despised personalities in the game.

 

[Kimlo]

Nasser didn't make him popular, SBW was already one of the biggest names in Australian & New Zealand sport before he ever came into the picture.

Hodges might be friends with him but he doesn't make a big point of it unlike SBW. Even then, Hodges isn't a good example because outside of Brisbane he's one of the most despised personalities in the game.

Naser turned the 1.6 million or so he was set to make into 4-5 million, a boxing career, union career and back to league again as the highest paid player (well when he signed it was) even though he hadn't played a game in 5 years. Maybe SBW was a headline before Naser but Naser converted that popularity into massive dollars which is what most players are chasing, except there's very few players who could convert their popularity to triple their wages.

I agree Hodges is hated outside of the Broncos but isn't that mostly because of his on field antics?