Sonny Bill Williams has been a busy man since his last NRL game for the Sydney Roosters in 2014.
Since his previous stint with the Chooks, Williams played for Super Rugby clubs the Chiefs and Blues, won a second Rugby World Cup with the All Blacks and squeezed in a heavyweight boxing victory over American Chauncy Welliver.
The 35-year-old, who signed a $10 million, two-year deal with Toronto Wolfpack last November, also returned to Sydney last month as the proud father of four children under five.
And as Williams prepares for his first NRL game in six years off the Roosters’ bench against Canberra on Saturday, it appears he ran out of time to learn the names of the Raiders’ biggest stars.
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In an interview on Wednesday night, Williams appeared well-aware of superstar duo Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton’s talents but appeared to not recall their names.
“If I’m being honest I haven’t really watched too much NRL the last few years other than the big games,” Williams told Wide World of Sports Radio when asked to identify the Raiders’ biggest threats.
“But my brother, he’s a massive, massive, avid Canberra supporter so he’s always filling me in on who the guns are and whatnot.
“I guess their linchpin of the forward pack is ‘Big Papa’ (Papalii), that’s what my brother calls him, so when he found out I was playing he said, ‘Watch out for Big Papa’.
“He’s their linchpin so we’ve got to control him and contain him as much as we can.
“And I think their five-eighth (Wighton) is a great player. He used to play in the centres but obviously they’ve moved him into more of a game-controlling mode and the last couple of years he’s won them a lot of those big games.
“… So he’s definitely another fella we have to watch out for but like I said they’ve got strike weapons all over the field.”
Williams was more certain when quizzed on what role he will be required to play for Trent Robinson on Saturday, confirming he’ll play lock when inserted off the bench against The Green Machine.
“I’ve played lock (before) but I haven’t played the full, extensive role which lock entails,” Williams said of his switch from edge back-rower to the middle.
“I’m under no illusions coming back here after not playing for six months (since his last appearance for Toronto Wolfpack) and coming off the back of surgery on my knee.
“I said the biggest challenge for me was to make the side, so yeah, I’ve made it now but at any capacity I just wanted to help out.
“If that’s more an engine-room type of role well that’s what I’ll have to do and that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend.”
