I am going to suggest this week that we take it a bit easier on Sonny Bill Williams - the last thing he needs is to be hailed as the best player ever to strap on a boot.
Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm saying this to save the
player from having to live up to unattainable expectations. I am also keen to save fans from being disappointed in a player who, when he has a form slump, can only produce one try a game, set up three devastating runs and tackle five players with ferocity.
A player can improve himself because he knows his limitations but, more importantly, he has the ability to control the rate of improvement. He alone can determine his path by his actions and ultimately he may become a great player because he consistently plays to a high level.
All the great players are noted as great because of that very reason - they played to an expected level every time they ran onto a field, not because in one season they won numerous accolades and awards and the next season they got injured and were never heard of again.
There have been many good athletes who have turned their sport on its ear one year and flitted into obscurity the next. In rugby league I can mention Paul Mares (Parramatta), Steve Mavin (Souths) and Ewan McGrady (Canterbury). Not many would know who I am talking about but those who can remember know that they also were destined for greatness.
On the other hand, the media, former great players, coaches and fans tend to set a benchmark that is way over Sonny Bill's head. He cannot live up to this benchmark because he did not set it.
Only history can give him the title of greatness. Former players, now TV commentators, have a vested interest in praising Sonny Bill because they are promoting the sport to retain viewership on their network. The name alone of Sonny Bill has a certain ring to it that makes it stand out. It has a certain marketability and we know exactly who it is we are speaking of without even referring to the sport or the surname. Other sportspeople have had similar tags placed on them and their name is synonymous with their sport - Jonah, Tiger and Kobe spring to mind.
Sonny Bill has become a media tool as interest is at a peak for the boy who has just secured a new deal with the Bulldogs. The club have brought him through the ranks at a pace conducive to his experience while everyone around is screaming for him to start games, play international football and now State of Origin.
I have no doubt he can handle the rigours of those games. But let him do it in his time and leave his coaches, who know him best, to develop him at the pace required to mature into potentially the best player the game has seen. But it'll take a hell of a player to dethrone King Wally as the most influential player of the modern era.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
I am going to suggest this week that we take it a bit easier on Sonny Bill Williams - the last thing he needs is to be hailed as the best player ever to strap on a boot.
Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm saying this to save the
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