IT HAS BEGUN ...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3632633a10713,00.html
he Bulldogs will insist club doctor Hugh Hazard assesses superstar utility Sonny Bill Williams before he is passed fit to play for New Zealand in the Anzac Test next month.
Williams has battled injury throughout his short career and is yet to take the field in 2006 because of a nagging foot injury. He is expected to make his season debut against Souths on Easter Monday.
The Bulldogs and the Kiwis have butted heads before over injuries to players, in particular to Williams and Matt Utai, and there may be another club-versus-country showdown before the first representative game of the season in Brisbane on May 5.
Kiwi coach Brian McClennan has indicated he will choose New Zealand's most exciting player even if he has had little game time.
If Williams plays against the Rabbitohs, he will have only three games to prove his fitness before the Kiwi team is picked on April 30.
The Bulldogs have treated him carefully to ensure he shakes off the injuries that have dogged his short but explosive career.
"We would want to be sure that Sonny Bill is 110 per cent fit if New Zealand pick him for the Anzac Test," Bulldogs chief executive Malcolm Noad said.
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"And we would certainly insist that he is assessed by our own doctor, Hugh Hazard, before he is passed fit to play.
"We would have to be convinced that he is totally injury free.
"Having said that, we fully support international rugby league and we don't want to prevent our players from reaching the pinnacle of the game and playing for their countries.
"But you have to consider the player's long-term future and we want him to get out there and play at the best possible standard."
McClennan's side dethroned the Kangaroos as the kings of international rugby league for the first time in three decades with a 24-0 win in the Tri Nations final in England in December.
After losing Benji Marshall to injury on Friday night, he will be especially keen to ensure Williams and his other Kiwi NRL players are available for the Test.
McClennan knows he needs to take a few risks to beat the Australians and he is not afraid to make unorthodox choices as shown by his decision to pick Jake Webster and Manu Vatuvei for the tour last year.
"We will be picking the best 17 we can," McClennan said.
"We will give consideration to all players who are fit and available. The Kiwis who played on the tour last year deserve to be considered but there were some players who were not on that tour and the team will be very much picked on form."
McClennan said he would be keeping a close eye on the progress of Williams when he returned from injury. The Kiwis will need all the ammunition they can get considering the Kangaroos will be keen to send Andrew Johns out a winner in his farewell Test.
"Sonny Bill Williams is an outstanding player and I can't wait for him to get back out on the field," McClennan said.
"Myself and the rest of the Kiwi people are really hoping he can get out there and enjoy himself again because he really deserves that and the fans deserve that, too.
"He has had a real tough run and we're hoping things will turn around for him.
"He needs to be managed back into the game and we're hoping he can soon play the type of football we all know that he can."
Williams's manager Gavin Orr is adamant his client wants to play for the Kiwis in the Test. "If he is fit he wants to play," he said.
"There are a lot of hidden pressures on Sonny Bill.
"He wants to get out there for himself and the sponsors want to see him out there. But most important of all, the fans do and that's not just Bulldogs fans - it's all rugby league fans."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3632633a10713,00.html
he Bulldogs will insist club doctor Hugh Hazard assesses superstar utility Sonny Bill Williams before he is passed fit to play for New Zealand in the Anzac Test next month.
Williams has battled injury throughout his short career and is yet to take the field in 2006 because of a nagging foot injury. He is expected to make his season debut against Souths on Easter Monday.
The Bulldogs and the Kiwis have butted heads before over injuries to players, in particular to Williams and Matt Utai, and there may be another club-versus-country showdown before the first representative game of the season in Brisbane on May 5.
Kiwi coach Brian McClennan has indicated he will choose New Zealand's most exciting player even if he has had little game time.
If Williams plays against the Rabbitohs, he will have only three games to prove his fitness before the Kiwi team is picked on April 30.
The Bulldogs have treated him carefully to ensure he shakes off the injuries that have dogged his short but explosive career.
"We would want to be sure that Sonny Bill is 110 per cent fit if New Zealand pick him for the Anzac Test," Bulldogs chief executive Malcolm Noad said.
Advertisement
Advertisement
"And we would certainly insist that he is assessed by our own doctor, Hugh Hazard, before he is passed fit to play.
"We would have to be convinced that he is totally injury free.
"Having said that, we fully support international rugby league and we don't want to prevent our players from reaching the pinnacle of the game and playing for their countries.
"But you have to consider the player's long-term future and we want him to get out there and play at the best possible standard."
McClennan's side dethroned the Kangaroos as the kings of international rugby league for the first time in three decades with a 24-0 win in the Tri Nations final in England in December.
After losing Benji Marshall to injury on Friday night, he will be especially keen to ensure Williams and his other Kiwi NRL players are available for the Test.
McClennan knows he needs to take a few risks to beat the Australians and he is not afraid to make unorthodox choices as shown by his decision to pick Jake Webster and Manu Vatuvei for the tour last year.
"We will be picking the best 17 we can," McClennan said.
"We will give consideration to all players who are fit and available. The Kiwis who played on the tour last year deserve to be considered but there were some players who were not on that tour and the team will be very much picked on form."
McClennan said he would be keeping a close eye on the progress of Williams when he returned from injury. The Kiwis will need all the ammunition they can get considering the Kangaroos will be keen to send Andrew Johns out a winner in his farewell Test.
"Sonny Bill Williams is an outstanding player and I can't wait for him to get back out on the field," McClennan said.
"Myself and the rest of the Kiwi people are really hoping he can get out there and enjoy himself again because he really deserves that and the fans deserve that, too.
"He has had a real tough run and we're hoping things will turn around for him.
"He needs to be managed back into the game and we're hoping he can soon play the type of football we all know that he can."
Williams's manager Gavin Orr is adamant his client wants to play for the Kiwis in the Test. "If he is fit he wants to play," he said.
"There are a lot of hidden pressures on Sonny Bill.
"He wants to get out there for himself and the sponsors want to see him out there. But most important of all, the fans do and that's not just Bulldogs fans - it's all rugby league fans."
