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RENEGADE agent Khoder Nasser has five days to apply for NRL accreditation or risk jeopardising star client Sonny Bill Williams's return to the competition.
Williams has been linked with the Sydney Roosters since The Sun-Herald photographed the All Blacks star and Nasser lunching with club supremo Nick Politis and Channel Nine boss David Gyngell, a former Roosters board member, late last year.
But while the whisper in league circles is that the deal is a fait accompli, the fact Nasser is not an accredited agent could be an unexpected sticking point. The Rugby League Player Agent Accreditation Scheme accepts a new intake of managers every six months - and the deadline for the latest batch of applicants is close of business Friday. There are more than 100 accredited agents operating in the NRL but Nasser - who oversees the careers of Anthony Mundine, Williams and another potential league convert in Quade Cooper - is not one of them.
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Player agent accreditation boss Neil Cadigan even took the unprecedented step of sending an email - obtained by The Sun-Herald - to all club bosses on November 1 last year warning them not to deal with Nasser due to his current status.
''Of course it is concerning to hear speculation around Sonny Bill Williams and his agent supposedly speaking with NRL clubs when his agent has made no effort to inquire about accreditation, and I have heard from some accredited agents who are not happy,'' Cadigan told The Sun-Herald. ''However, it is speculation at this stage and there has been no evidence that any club is negotiating a playing contract for SBW with Khoder Nasser, nor has any club lodged a contract with the NRL for Sonny Bill Williams.
''We have only seen newspaper reports and a photograph of a meeting between Nasser, Williams and Roosters chairman Nick Politis and former director David Gyngell, who may very well have been having a social coffee. Although it would be naive to think they were only talking about the latest rugby set-play, boxing or the New Zealand economy.''
Williams has been linked with the Sydney Roosters since The Sun-Herald photographed the All Blacks star and Nasser lunching with club supremo Nick Politis and Channel Nine boss David Gyngell, a former Roosters board member, late last year.
But while the whisper in league circles is that the deal is a fait accompli, the fact Nasser is not an accredited agent could be an unexpected sticking point. The Rugby League Player Agent Accreditation Scheme accepts a new intake of managers every six months - and the deadline for the latest batch of applicants is close of business Friday. There are more than 100 accredited agents operating in the NRL but Nasser - who oversees the careers of Anthony Mundine, Williams and another potential league convert in Quade Cooper - is not one of them.
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Player agent accreditation boss Neil Cadigan even took the unprecedented step of sending an email - obtained by The Sun-Herald - to all club bosses on November 1 last year warning them not to deal with Nasser due to his current status.
''Of course it is concerning to hear speculation around Sonny Bill Williams and his agent supposedly speaking with NRL clubs when his agent has made no effort to inquire about accreditation, and I have heard from some accredited agents who are not happy,'' Cadigan told The Sun-Herald. ''However, it is speculation at this stage and there has been no evidence that any club is negotiating a playing contract for SBW with Khoder Nasser, nor has any club lodged a contract with the NRL for Sonny Bill Williams.
''We have only seen newspaper reports and a photograph of a meeting between Nasser, Williams and Roosters chairman Nick Politis and former director David Gyngell, who may very well have been having a social coffee. Although it would be naive to think they were only talking about the latest rugby set-play, boxing or the New Zealand economy.''
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