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'Not the SBW we remember': Gallen's warning for NRL teams chasing cross-code great
Sonny Bill Williams is a free agent.Source: Getty Images
Staff Writers from Fox Sports
July 21st, 2020 8:10 pm
Former Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen has warned NRL suitors chasing Sonny Bill Williams that the cross-code superstar will not be the same player he was when he departed the Sydney Roosters in 2014.
Williams is a free-agent for the remainder of the current season after Canadian outfit Toronto Wolfpack withdrew from the Super League.
His surprise availability has got several clubs interested but Gallen has reminded them the Kiwi great is no longer in his physical prime.
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"He hasn't played in the game since 2014," Gallen said on WWOS Radio. "It's not the same Sonny Bill Williams we all remember.
"To think he's going to come back to the NRL and be the player that he was in 2013 (2014), you're dreaming."
If Williams is to return to the NRL, Gallen said there are only two clubs he wants to see him at.
"He walked out on the Bulldogs in 2008. Go back and help the Bulldogs get off the bottom of the ladder. Or you know what, he's a proud Kiwi – go back and help the Warriors out.
"He is a superstar and he draws a crowd, I'd almost make an (salary cap) exemption for him to go back to the Bulldogs or the Warriors for 10 games."
Williams has been linked with a five-game deal to play for the Warriors, with The Daily Telegraph reporting the club contacted his management on Tuesday to sound out a five-match contract.
The deal would be worth $100,000 and as he would be a loan player they would not need to fit him under their salary cap.