SBW reborn in garden of Eden There he was. The player everyone had come to see. The name on everyone's lips. Back on Eden Park, with the familiar No.12 spread across his broad shoulders. Only, this wasn't so familiar. It had, after all, been five years since he last played the Warriors. And, apart from last week's low-key 51-minute comeback from the bench, five years since he had laced the boots in the 13-made code. New Zealanders had become accustomed, eventually warmed to Sonny Bill Williams' freakish talents in the same numbered jersey. Of course, that was in a completely different role and predominantly down State Highway One. In the 'Tron he collected a third different title with the Chiefs then packed his superstar bag for Sydney's bright lights. On track: Sonny Bill Williams. He is, clearly, still adjusting to another new emblem; another change of code, but it won't take long for him to find his groove. On Saturday night, the spotlight shone on his first match at Eden Park since the 2011 Rugby World Cup. That tournament wasn't his shining glory in rugby but he went on to make a larger-than-life impression. The nature of Sydney's league obsession means that will again be the case. It's just one of the reasons many of the 32,740 crowd came to see him in the flesh. On what's thought to be $687,693 per season, Williams made easy money against many of his countrymen to maintain his eight-match unbeaten record at the Garden of Eden. "I didn't hesitate to leave him out there for 80 minutes," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said. He had to do a lot of hard work. He defended really well and he had some tough carries. He doesn't shirk the work. I had a lot of faith in him. It's a great sign for a coach to have someone like that out there for that time. Conscious of warming into his adopted task and not overplaying his hand, Williams didn't go looking for work too often. With the shoulder charge outlawed his defence seemed to lack its trademark sting, too. Eleven carries for 89 metres, 20 tackles and two typically sensational offloads suggest he had a busy night. Indeed, Roosters centre Michael Jennings should have scored from Williams' second pop pass. Yet, more will soon be expected from the now rangy second-rower. That's just part of his business. Other than being penalised twice, once for sparking a stand-off with plucky Warriors centre Konrad Hurrell in an ironic twist to his controversial boxing quest, the 27-year-old was just one of 13 red, white and blue jerseys. "Regardless of who we are playing we don't take rubbish off anyone," Warriors coach Matt Elliott said of Williams' scuffle. It's not a matter of who he [Hurrell] is squaring up against, it's a matter of what he's doing it on behalf of. We won't be going looking for fights, but we won't be standing down from them either. Naturally, Williams won't rekindle the form that shot him to stardom immediately. The Roosters realise, barring injury, they have all season to get the best out of him. Two less players equates to about 20 metres more space than rugby offers. You do the math; it's only a matter of time before Williams sheds his conservative shell and breaks this game wide open. "He's probably further [along] than I expected after two games," Robinson said. He's done exceptionally well.