They went on about SBW leaving to France like it was High Treason. NRL got beat by a very carefully planned and executed strategy for SBW to leave before the NRL could corner him and serve him with a mountain of legal paperwork. Could you imagine the Premier League in the UK have a salary cap system

Peter T , Sydney , Australia

"The most hated man", from anywhere, is always welcomed in the most hated country!!;) But in France now, we have to deal with too many foreigner players (= not so many opportunities for young french players).

Mathieu, Toulouse, France

SBW is the most sensible guy around, hes exploiting the fact of how short an athletes career is and making a step forward financially. People leave jobs unceremoniously in the real world, that is life. He doesn't owe anything to anyone in life but to look after himself and his family.

C James, Tampere, Finland

sonny is not the most hated man in australia, right now he's doing what's right for him and that's his business. has anyone heard from him? no so nobody actually knows the circumstances on which he left so until that is let out people shouldn't critisise his decision. he was amazing with the kids

riharna, walcha, australia

SBW should take up cricket and play in the English County comp for a couple of months. Then play for the United Nations (England) who've made an art form out of drafting in cricketing flotsam & jetsam from all over the Commonwealth for 25 years or so. About time they got a Samoan into 'Team England'

Phil , Winmalee, Australia

No, Sarah - the time for him to consider his future is when he signs his contract, not sometime after. He has all the freedom of choice in the world when he AGREES to be bound by that contract. He is innocent until proven guilty, we'll see if thats still the case when he has his day in court, eh?

Ken, harpenden, uk

He signed a contract and din't stick to it. Simply is not a man of his word and needs to be made fully responsible. All these fools saying he has to do the best he can for himself (ie take the money no matter the ethics involved) seem to have no sense of balance. He was doing better than most. Shame

Karl Juhnke, Rockingham, Perth

Try to remember.. This young talented man has to think of his future. He may regret this but as YOU dont know the surrounding events leading to his departure how dare you judge his actions.. what ever happened to freedom of choice and innocent until proven gulity, good luck SBW x

sarah, Leeds, UK

I have to say that if Tana asked me to play for Toulon I wouldn't turn him down and he wouldn't even have to pay me!

Heather, New Zealand,

The NRL and Dogs should let him go - who wants a player who dosen't want ot play for you, it would disrupt team harmony too much no matter how good he is. They just need to make sure this frech mob gives them enough cash to ease the pain and cash themselves up for next season.

Graeme, Mackay, Australia

Conspiracy theory #1. All Blacks are short of midfield talent for the 2011 RWC. AB's management take him for a pint (just the one, mind) and suggest a sojourn to France to hone union skills and bide time until outrage subsides. In 2010 will we suddenly see SBW appear for the Crusaders? You bet.

stanley, Orkland, Nu Zeelun

He signed a contract and is bound to it. Why should the dogs have to suffer out of this they let plenty of good young players go to retain him. I wouldnt expect anyone from the uk to understand as most of there sporting clubs have more foreign talent than locals anyway.

Ads, Ctown, Australia

Most hated man in Australia? No, possibly most hated man in a few suburbs of Sydney and parts of Queensland. Most Australians treat rugby league with contempt and its players as neanderthals. The only sport that matters in Australia is AFL (Australian Rules) as any fule kno.

John_R, Mandurah, Western Australia

The issue here has nothing to do with a player wanting to leave for more money, or he feels he has achieved all he can or whatever his reasons. It has to do with the way the contract was broken, they he just left. Williams never once came out said himself "I don't want to be here" he just left.

Jono, Syd,

League had beter get used to it! League is such a closed minded sport supported in Auckland, Queensland, NSW, some cities in the north of England and PNG. Thats it. Most Leaguies here are probably wondering where France is. Shame he didnt see out the season though and meet his charity obligations.

andy, toowoomba, australia

And if for some reason he started playing really poorly - maybe for a full season - would his team keep him on, and keep paying his wages for the full period of his contract - no way, they would drop him like a hot cake.

Brett, singapore, singapore

He's 22 years old. He's a kid. Much of the blame must fall on his parents and other older influences. At 22 all he sees is dollar signs. An older person may have put more credence in concepts like honor, loyalty, and respect. Obviously not the people giving William advice. He'll regret this some day

Shaun, Halifax, Canada

The fact that he went off to a better paid job is not really the issue, the fact that his team mates, club management and fans and linked charities mean nothing to him is deplorable, The fact that he doesn't stand by agreements should be a warning to his future employer. Ban him for life!

Mark Potter, Sydney, Australia

I don't care what Silly Bill does - most Australians couldn't care less about his actions. But I do object to the way he snuck away from his obligations without sorting things out. A poor example to young sporting fans and sadly for young Sonny it will stay with him forever.

Greg, Gold Coast, Australia

Fanatical devotion? 7802 watched the Bulldogs play St George.

Fickle and only interested when they're winning is how I'd sum up the average Australian sports fan.

Iain, Sydney, Australia

I support SBW. Of course he should accept an extra one million dollars a year. A lot of people will have a whinge but he won't have to listen to it in France. I support league but can't wait for the next world cup with players like Gasnier, SBW, Tahu (probably Mason and plenty of others as well).

andrew, newcastle, stralia

Money Bill Williams is likely to be a traitor if he does not soon give his side of the story to the bulldogs, its fans and all NRL supporters in Australia.

Setting a bad example. He needs to comment on his actions so we know his viewpoint. Then we can judge.

Does not look good though!

Roy, Sydney, Australia

It's a free world isn't it? Employees should have a right to live their lives the way they want to, and the NRL shouldn't treat Sonny like he is a well paid slave, sounds like Sour Grapes to me.

Alex, Wellington, New Zealand

How loyal would the Bulldogs have been if they were offered someone with twice Sonny-Bill's talent, willing to accept half the pay? Williams made a good business decision. Reiterating Tony from Auckland: Bulldogs are the first club to ditch players like rag dolls the moment they're no longervalued

Alex, Newcastle, Australia

I am a mad Bulldog supporter and have loved watching Sonny Bill but this season his heart does not seem to be in it. I say let him go and I don't want him to come back to Bulldogs. As good as he is it must be disruptive to have him play somethime only one out of three.

Jenny Christophersen, Cairns, Australia

People who know about rugby league in Australia think it's priceless that the Bulldogs of all people are complaining about the way Williams has dumped them.

They are the first club to ditch players like rag dolls the moment they're no longer valuable to them. They asked for it.

Tony, Auckland, New Zealand

Like many Australians I wouldn't be surprised if he was just plain bored with the place. How exciting can it really be travelling to places like Carlton, Penrith and Newcastle? I know the league teams do stop in in Townsville, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. You'd hardly call them thrilling places.

Matt, London, UK

"most hated man in Australia" - hardly - bar NSW & Qld, the country barely cares about either Rugby code eg. go to The Age website (Melbourne) it's the 10th line down in the sports section.

Yep he's broken a contract but as for "immaturity" how many people would knock back > 2x their salary??!?

Ian, Québec, Canada

If he is in breach of his contract sue him but saying he could face criminal charges is just bloody stupid. He has a contract and he should honour it or be hauled into court. He should not be allowed to play anywhere until this is settled

Lloyd, London,

Do these clubs not have lawyers??

Alex, London,

Criminal charges for choosing to change job? Nice to see what a democratic country Australia is!

Alex, London,

Why wouldn't a talented player choose to play rugby union for Toulon in preference to the thuggery that passes for sport that is Australian rugby league. Union is not only a vastly superior game but the pay is clearly better too. No contest.

David, St Albans, UK

S Davies. I love the fact that even though Australian Rugby has had nothing to do with this situation, you bring the on going debate into the argument at hand. Furthermore, D Barton referred to Football in his comment, not Rugby, so it is you who is taking the cheap shot. Grow up.

Rod, London, UK

Are these the same loyalty loving Australians who tried to convince Sonny Bill to play for the Kangaroos the moment he stepped onto Australian turf? Williams hasn't covered his back very well, but I do have some sympathy for him. He was at the centre of a media storm and wanted out. Good luck SBW

John, London,

The key issue here is the way he left. It is the equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly jumping on a plane and signing for Real Madrid without Man United getting a penny in return. The Gasnier transfer is a totally different matter as he had a get out clause in his contract.

Simon Hick, Leeds,

S Davies... if Williams travelling around the world to Toulon shows Australian RU in a bad light, dear god man it shows Australian RL in a far worse one! Face it, after years of being the richest code you are now the poor relation, better get used to migrating players.

Matt, Brimingham, UK

I know nothing about Rugby league. As a South African, I am thrilled by the response he has created in Australia. Other than Crocodile Dundee, this is my favourite Australian.

Hugh, Sandton, South Africa

NRL clubs and fans generally seem to possess a pretty closed mentality - they don't realise that there is a whole world out there.
In fact they barely ackowledge the existance of the UK Superleague.
Treat the quality players with the respect they deserve and there won't be these 'desertions'

Daniel , Melbourne/Bradford, Australia/UK

Oh dear Mr Barton, championing Mr Williams' unacceptable and potentially unlawful behaviour just to have a cheap shot at rugby league which far exceeds union as Australia's most popular rugby code. Williams having to go round the world to Toulon demonstrates the lack of meaningful club Union in Aus.

S Davies, Bristol,

No it hasn't. The simple issue here is that he broke his contractual obligations, a contract that he was instrumental in signing. He is less than a year into a 5-year contract, and it was at Williams' insistence that it should be that long (the club wanted 3 years).

Misha Charrett, Sydney, Australia

Harden up NRL. This is the globalised world we live in. Why would you expect a youg player, who is exceptionally talented, to be content with marking time in a game which offers far less opportunities to a player of his ability? Australian soccer has always had to deal with this reality.

Dom Barton, Reading, UK