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Former New Zealand coach Graham Lowe reckons loyalty and money weren't the catalyst in the Sonny Bill Williams affair - instead he's pointed the finger of suspicion at the Bulldogs.
The comments come in the wake of news French rugby club Toulon are unlikely to sign the New Zealand international for anywhere near the previously reported $3.91 million two-year deal.
Instead, Toulon's owner-president Mourad Boudjellal has indicated a salary package similar to his Bulldogs' contract will be offered to Williams.
Lowe - who was recently named as coach of the Bay of Plenty Stags in the upcoming National Provincial Competition - believes the defection wasn't purely about chasing dollar signs.
"I don't think it's a money issue at all. I don't think it's a lack of loyalty thing either, because there is no loyalty.
"When they [the NRL] moved all the guys with the cauliflower ears out from the boardrooms and replaced them with marketers, that's when the loyalty was lost."
Williams, labelled by Lowe as "the NRL's greatest player", was resigned to the fact rugby league has lost the services of the talented 22-year-old forever. "Yep, I think he's gone.
"I don't think he'll want to come back. He seems to me to be looking for more of a challenge," Lowe added.
"I personally think that something's happened at the Bulldogs. I think it was probably something small that might have just lit the fuse for him."
While Lowe believed New Zealand Rugby League couldn't have done anything to prevent Williams leaving the sport, Lowe disapproved of the NRL's actions in recent days.
The governing body will ask the New South Wales Supreme Court to grant an injunction preventing the New Zealander from breaking his five-year contract with the Bulldogs on Tuesday.
Lowe said the NRL's threats were an overreaction. "For that reason alone, he wouldn't want to play [league in the NRL] again.
"When I was a coach, I signed Zinzan Brooke. When he changed his mind, I ripped up the contract. At the end of the day, if he doesn't want to play, he doesn't want to play."
While much of the attention has been focused on the hole Williams leaves at the Bulldogs, Lowe is concerned with how his loss may impact on New Zealand league.
Arguably, the greatest benefactors in this debacle are New Zealand rugby fans.
Lowe trumpeted renegade Williams' potential as a union player, making the prediction we could see him play in the Rugby World Cup 2015.
"I think he's one of the most likely guys to do it [make a successful transition to rugby union]. I think that potentially he could be one of their best players."
- DAILY POST
