NRL: Sonny Bill eyes return to Kiwis side

Williams has an option of a second season with the Roosters. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Sonny Bill Williams wants to return to international league and has targeted New Zealand's test against Australia in Canberra this month to do it.

It is the first time the explosive back-rower has indicated he wants to return to the international arena since he ended a five-year exile from the NRL by joining the Sydney Roosters this season.

His decision will also raise hopes he could take part in the Rugby League World Cup in Europe in October and November.

Williams has an option of a second season with the Roosters and, if he takes it, the 27-year-old would almost certainly feature in Stephen Kearney's plans for retaining the title his side won in 2008.

The Kiwis take on the Kangaroos on April 19 and Williams said he would be ready to play his first international league game since May 2008 if the Kiwis coach wanted him.

"I'd love to say yes and put my hand up but it depends on whether my form warrants it," he said yesterday.

Williams had his best game for Trent Robinson's side in their gritty 8-0 win over Brisbane on March 23 - his third in the NRL since his exit from Canterbury in 2008.

The former Bulldogs star said the game was a lot different from the one he left and he believed it would be harder for him to show the individual brilliance that once made him the biggest name in the NRL.

"The game is a bit of a fitness session out there. Most teams are playing the same and it's a battle of wills," he said. "I won't lie, when I left the game, it was a lot more open, a lot more free-flowing."

-AAP