NRL
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Sonny Bill Williams' return to the NRL couldn't have been any more different from his cloak and dagger exit more than four years ago.
On a chilly Saturday in July 2008, Williams turned his back on rugby league when he boarded a flight to London to sign a deal with French rugby club Toulon.
His walkout - just one year into a five-year contract with Canterbury - was widely condemned by his former teammates, supporters and senior figures in the game.
But in front of a packed media conference yesterday afternoon, Sydney Roosters' chief operating officer Ted Helliar, in announcing the NRL's worst-kept secret, labelled the signing of Williams "a great day for rugby league".
It's ironic that Williams has agreed to join the Roosters on a one-year deal, just two weeks after his original Bulldogs contract would have expired.
Even more ironic was Williams admitting he only returned to the game he turned his back on because he was honouring an agreement he made three years ago with Roosters' chairman Nick Politis.
Williams has enjoyed a stunning last two seasons in rugby, helping the All Blacks end their World Cup famine in 2011 and then contributing to perennial underachievers the Chiefs' Super rugby triumph this year.
His ability has never been in doubt, but despite his polished media performance, the 27-year-old provided little to show he's now a team player.
Williams will link up with his new teammates in February - less than a month before the season starts.
He claims this will allow him time to study how the Roosters play - but not before he returns to the boxing ring.
The nearest Williams came to committing to anything was when he said his main desire was to "push the sporting boundaries" and that he very much saw himself as a boxer.
Becoming the only Kiwi heavyweight champion anyone outside of New Zealand has heard of since world title contender David Tua isn't going to take him all the way to Madison Square Garden.
But the number of people waiting to see if he succeeds or fails when he runs out in round one for the Roosters, would be more than capable of filling it several times over. AAP