Sonny v Victor

[Johnny Tobin]

Well here it is. Sonny is coming and it looks like he will be playing lock.

Who would you prefer?

Our attack hinges a lot on Victor and we have suffered since he left. His defence and general enthusiasm on the field are also great.

Yet Sonny will be a massive influence on and off the field. He will yet again win us games single-handedly. Don’t worry about how he played in that second-rate side. This is a whole new ball game and he will be up for it.

Not sure who I prefer but I am excited to see Sonny go around again for us.

[Easts75]

Love SBW and he is much needed with our injuries and definitely will do a job for us. However , I would choose Radley at this stage of their careers. Radley offers 60+ minutes of excellence, I am thinking Sonny might be around 40min

[ism22]

Well here it is. Sonny is coming and it looks like he will be playing lock.

Who would you prefer?

Radley's out with a busted ACL so eeeerm... Sonny.

If Radley, Crichton, Cordner, Verrills, Smith, Liu and Butcher weren't all injured then I don't think we'd be considering SBW as a replacement. However, it's an insane year that looks like it has brought out the impossible so I'm personally looking forward to seeing SBW win us another premiership!

Which one do I prefer if given the option though? SBW at his best for sure. He's a rare talent, hits harder (which is saying something!) and has silkier ball skills. Also, he's eeerm... totemic! Having SBW in the sheds with you is like having William Wallace turn up to the battle (or whoever... [insert movie hero who is not some farking flog like Maximus, James Braddock or Jack Aubrey]). You want him in the sheds with the boys, revving everybody up and encouraging them to do better.

I'd pick Radley over SBW if I had to choose one or the other to have on our books right now. Radley WILL play Origin and will more than likely play for Australia. He's a special talent and has a scary amount of development left in him. Whereas, SBW is very much a stop gap solution. However, we don't have to make that call as we can afford both this season.

[BUDDY]

Seeing how much Rad's absence has changed the team I would choose him easily over SBW. Our defence and attack has suffered far more than I think anyone expected.

There are many questions on what SBW can offer after a 6 year absence in a much faster game. But if you ask will he improve our current team then if we have everyone back on deck come semis then absolutely he will if he replaces Maubs. Love him but he probably went one year too long.

[Tommy Smith]

In 2020 you'd have to choose Radley. I'm not sure there was a more influential forward in the game before he went down.

The dude was racking up 150m+ in some games, to go alongside brutal defence with unsurpassed line speed, leadership, and his direct ball playing which, to quote Joey, is as good as any halfback.

That being said, this is SBW we're talking about. The gap between Sonny and the next best forward I've ever seen is as great as Cam Smith and the next best hooker. If he's even 60% the player he was in 2013 then he'll still likely be the difference maker in leading us to a Premiership.

[dice]

I have visions of SBW attracting defenders and giving Teddy and Manu more space to run riot than they could have imagined.

[ism22]

That being said, this is SBW we're talking about. The gap between Sonny and the next best forward I've ever seen is as great as Cam Smith and the next best hooker. If he's even 60% the player he was in 2013 then he'll still likely be the difference maker in leading us to a Premiership.

Agreed. When you're that good, you don't just magically lose it with age. The guy's 194cm and passes like a half... even if he's lost a bit of speed, he hasn't lost his physical presence or ball skills.

Also I mean... he's Sonny farking Bill Williams! Imagine what that does for the locker room. No offence to the guy but I betcha half the boys in the locker room are glad Radley's not in there, farking around with his antics and shyte during training. Whereas, having Cronk or SBW kitting up next to you motivates you to do better.

When I set my sprinting PB (believe it or not) it was off the back of training with SBW at Bankstown. Hard to describe it but even then he was super thorough about his prep and I copied (started doing stuff that people would laugh at me for doing at club meets). To me that's the difference between being pretty good and pumping out your absolute best. When you're doing more prep than everybody else (while they're f@rting around, joking that it's all BS) and you have the confidence to say 'I don't give a fark - I'm prepping for my race, not yours' then you go to that next level. I reckon that SBW might even do more as a late inclusion because the buzz won't have time to wear off. The boys will gain SBW, up their game, get serious and this will push them through the finals.

[Steakface]

In 2020, i would choose Radley no doubt.

I don't see SBW, especially the 2020 SBW, as an exciting prospect at lock.

I expect Robbo to use SBW somewhat sparingly initially.

If Robbo intends to use him at lock his impact will be average imo. He'll wind up as a tacklebot, with a handful of lukewarm hitups. Not ideal for an old fella.

IMO if he is coming back he has got to be a second row bench forward where he can create something....at lock it's going to be a very underwhelming experiment

[Thirteen]

Victor. Look how well the team was going when he was there. The team has barely put in a decent performance since his injury. Sonny will need time to get up to standard. Victor was already there.

[Maxy Walker]

As good as Victor is there’s only one Sonny Bill if he brings anything like his best form. Curious about why people are thinking he’s too old. Cronk, Cam Smith & the Morris bros are all examples of players as good as ever at a similar age. No reason why SBW can’t be the same.

[Rooster1908]

Rads everyday , he brings so much to the team in attack and defence , and as for that locker room shyte someone else described., I will bet you the older boys like cords and Jake love it , keeps them young and on there toes . But he's not there so welcome Sonny , how bloody exciting to see him back finally

[zac]

if there was a magic pill to give rads which meant he could come back this season but the only way it works is if sbw can't play for us then you'd thank sonny but give rads the pill. in the absence of that pill sbw is a great alternative, brings things to a team that no one else in the world could and is capable of winning us games. maybe he doesn't do much; maybe we've been hit in the bum by a rainbow.
interesting to see where robbo plays sbw.

[milanja]

Since Radley has been injured, we’ve suffered on both sides of the field, SBW has a lot to live up to, hope he can play half as well as he did many moons ago.

[chicka]

Both Roosters legends whichever way you want to look at it. I hope SBW can fire us up because we have looked lacklustre just recently. There is a premiership to be won and Sonny improves our chances. Does anyone think Penrith or Parra wouldn't welcome him into their squad?

[The Skeez]

Sonny is a mercenary wheras Victor is a clubman