KEY POINTS:
There has been a huge amount of commentary about Sonny Bill Williams' walk-out on the Bulldogs for a reported $3 million over two years with French rugby club Toulon - most of it negative. Sonny Bill has completed only one year of a five-year contract he signed with the Bulldogs.
That five-year contract is a very long contract in the league world.
On BSport this week I spoke to Canterbury chief executive Todd Greenberg who assured me it was Sonny Bill and his management who insisted on the length of the term, telling club management he did not like the process of going through contract negotiations.
The club believed the term was too long and thought the deal a huge risk, Greenberg said, but eventually gave in to secure the services long-term of this league superstar, a player they could build a team around.
So why have we seen a complete 180-degree turn in attitude from Sonny Bill? It has only come about since he disassociated himself from the managers who cut the five-year deal he not only agreed to but insisted on and became linked to boxing promoter Khoder Nasser, Anthony Mundine's manager and promoter.
This opened up a whole can of worms. SBW's Bulldogs contract was negotiated by another management company, which is entitled to its percentage cut for the length of the deal. Nasser gets nothing from it, even though he is now the manager. It is quite clearly in Nasser's interests to try to break that contract and secure SBW a deal elsewhere, one that returns revenue to Nasser.
Right now, Nasser is presenting himself not as SBW's manager or agent but merely as a friend, so he can distance himself from accusations that he assisted or incited the player to break a legally binding agreement. At best, Nasser is a slippery individual and SBW needs to be wary of the motivations behind his advice.
There has been talk that the Bulldogs and the NRL will seek an injunction to prevent SBW training or playing anywhere but for Canterbury and that SBW's response and that of his lawyers will be to challenge the legality of the salary cap in the NRL.
If Sonny Bill is serious about this and he has to fund it himself he will quickly learn that his salary with the Dogs at $450,000 pre-tax - or even his salary with Toulon at $1.5 million pre-tax - is not a lot when it comes to taking on a media and financial behemoth like the NRL and News Ltd with their massive revenue streams.
One would have to think that funding for any court case would be coming not just from SBW, because whoever does fund it will have to have very deep pockets.
Sonny Bill has taken a massive hit in his popularity with the fans, sponsors, media and managers of the game and he has brought it all on himself by poor decision-making.
Surely the right thing to do if he was unhappy at Canterbury was to get the French rugby officials to fly down to Sydney to talk to him in private so he could continue to fulfil his obligations to the Bulldogs, their backers and his teammates?
The same French officials could have entered talks with Canterbury that might have seen him legitimately released, with the French club buying out his contract and the Dogs able to shop elsewhere, everyone happy.
Surely SBW didn't think for one second he could just get on the plane and simply forget all about his NRL contract. Surely he and his new agent discussed both the short- and long-term future in both rugby and league and understood it is not a smart thing to burn your bridges with the organisation that gave you the platform to make you famous.
One day he might want to re-engage with the NRL. Right now it is looking increasingly unlikely. He might come to regret his flight from the code and club he professed to love.
To Matthew Ridge: Mate, I'm disappointed you did not back up your strong words against the Warriors management by meeting my challenge to put your job as a columnist with the Sunday News on the line against mine here at the Herald if the club makes the playoffs.
It's unlike you not to back up words with action so I'll leave the offer on the table for one more week ... and hope you find the ticker to rise to the occasion. Back up your strong views with some substance and acknowledge publicly that the bet is on. Warriors make the eight and you resign. If they don't, I will resign.
Mate, have you got the ticker to take it on?
