League: Tonga credits Sonny Bill for Origin comeback

Willie Tonga has replaced injured Queensland centre Justin Hodges for State Origin II next Wednesday. Photo / Getty Images

BRISBANE - Still a dirty word in some Bulldogs circles, rugby convert Sonny Bill Williams is only spoken of in glowing terms by former teammate Willie Tonga.

Indeed, without the "positive influence" of the man known as SBW, Tonga admits he may have not capped a remarkable representative comeback with Queensland selection in Brisbane on Tuesday.

It's why the new Maroons centre still backed Williams after becoming one of the first to discover his former flatmate planned to sensationally leave the Bulldogs in mid-2008.

It's why he was with a Bulldogs contingent who put noses out of joint at Canterbury by attending the controversial Kiwi's recent boxing debut in Brisbane.

And it's why he has "100 per cent" support for Williams' rugby dream, despite the wreckage left behind by the former NRL star.

Five years after last playing for Queensland, Tonga was named as the replacement for injured Maroons centre Justin Hodges for next Wednesday night's Origin II clash in Sydney.

It was a reward for enduring four injury-riddled seasons at NRL club the Bulldogs.

They were dark times for the gamebreaker - Tonga did not know whether he would play NRL again, let alone Origin.

But Tonga revealed then-Bulldogs teammate Williams was the spark he needed to finally turn his fortune around.

"At the start I tried to do it by myself, thinking `I don't need someone else'," Tonga said.

"But when you go through those tough times you do need positive people around you.

"I was living with Sonny at the time. He was very supportive, very positive.

"The energy and the vibe that he had, I really bounced off that.

"It got me up in the morning. He made me think `I am going to get through this'."

Tonga - who played at the Bulldogs from 2004-08 before linking with the Cowboys this year - admitted he was one of the first to learn that Williams was going to walk away.

"It was a big shock to know what he was going to do but once he explained why I fully understood and supported him," he said.

"There was nothing I could do to stop him."

Williams returned to Australia for the first time since ditching the Bulldogs mid-2008 for his professional boxing debut in Brisbane recently, in support of good mate Anthony Mundine.

A Bulldogs player contingent raised the ire of the NRL club when they attended the fight to support Williams.

"I went to his fight. A lot of people think otherwise but it was great to see the boys out there supporting him," Tonga said.

"He's definitely a good mate of mine and I only have respect for him.

"I support him 100 per cent."

Williams has left the door open for an NRL return in the future - a move Tonga backed.

"I would love to see him back in the NRL," Tonga said.

"But I don't know whether he will play here or Super League (in England).

"However he is enjoying rugby in France and I think his goal is to play for the All Blacks.

"He definitely misses rugby league. He just told me that he's got a channel over there which lets him watch all the NRL games, he was excited about that."

Tonga said Williams was "still around" and hoped he would attend Origin II in Sydney.

Queensland
Billy Slater (Melbourne), Darius Boyd (St George Illawarra), Greg Inglis (Melbourne), Willie Tonga (North Queensland), Israel Folau (Brisbane), Darren Lockyer (capt, Brisbane), Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland), Steven Price (New Zealand Warriors), Cameron Smith (Melbourne), Petero Civoniceva (Penrith), Ashley Harrison (Gold Coast), Sam Thaiday (Brisbane), Dallas Johnson (Melbourne).

Interchange: Karmichael Hunt (Brisbane), Ben Hannant (Bulldogs), Nate Myles (Sydney Roosters), Michael Crocker (South Sydney).

- AAP