IT would have been unthinkable three years ago, but the Bulldogs are now seriously considering having another crack at getting superstar $onny Bill Williams back to Belmore.
Canterbury is the only NRL club $onny Bill can play for next season under the terms of an agreement thrashed out when he walked mid-contract in 2008.
"I've never said we wouldn't have Sonny back," Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said.
But the Bulldogs boss insists he would only deal with Sonny and not his agent, Khoder Nasser, who orchestrated the move to French rugby three years ago.
"Time heals all wounds and you don't slam the door shut on anyone," Greenberg said.
"If his next deal is about money, he'll go back and play football in France, but if he wants to test himself again in the toughest competition in the world, he'll come back to the NRL.
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"Whoever is coaching us next year will have a view on it and decide whether we show some interest.
"I'd want to deal with him personally, and not his agent."
The Bulldogs still have Sonny Bill under a legally binding agreement that he cannot play for another NRL club until 2013, when his original contract, which was $400,000 a season, was due to expire.
The Warriors two years ago approached Greenberg about paying compensation for a clearance but the deal fell through.
They would consider an amount of around $200,000 to release Williams now if any other NRL clubs were interested in signing him.
"Whatever happens, he's an elite athlete and it would be great to see him back playing NRL."
Williams is a free agent after the rugby union World Cup final in New Zealand later this month.
"I don't want to make a hasty decision," he said recently. "It's not right for myself or my family.
"I've just got to assess the situation after the World Cup. At this stage, I'm trying to push everything away and make everything else irrelevant and just solely concentrate on rugby."
Benji, Quade in hybrid game
IMAGINE Kiwi captain Benji Marshall going into battle against Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper. Or big Manu Vatuvei lining up opposite new rugby sensation James O'Connor.
Top-secret plans are well under way to stage a hybrid game between a combined Kangaroos and Wallabies team against an All Blacks and Kiwis side at ANZ Stadium next year.
ANZ Stadium has signed up with a private promoter for the venue and management rights.
Channel Nine has already been approached about televising the game and leading players have been told they will earn up to $80,000 for a one-off appearance.
By the end of this month, David Gallop and John O'Neill will have proposals on their desks. So, too, will their Kiwi counterparts.
I'm told the size of the offers will be almost too good to refuse, particularly if the players find out how much they can earn and then put pressure on administrators.
A proposal is being finalised and a date for the game - probably at the end of next season - will be revealed soon.
Trouble in the Chook pen
ROOSTERS coach Brian Smith is so close to losing his dressing room it's not funny.
And don't think this is just another bag Brian Smith yarn because we don't get on.
Hand on the Bible, I know of two senior players at Bondi Junction who want out.
They can't stand playing their football under Smith's highly regimented schoolteacher style.
I won't name them because it will only make their lives more uncomfortable and more difficult.
I do know they have both approached their managers about the situation.
Standby for further developments.
Kewell feud runs to Fox
THE feud between Robbie Slater and Harry Kewell is far from being sorted.
Through his agent Bernie Mandic, Kewell has made it known he will not do Fox Sports interviews while Slater is employed on the soccer commentary staff.
Fox Sports is backing Slater to the hilt and have told the Kewell camp and Melbourne Victory they have no right to be rejecting interviews.
Col wheelin' and healin'
VETERAN photographer Col Whelan hasn't missed a grand final since 1978 and he's not about to let a broken pelvis, shoulder, wrist and elbow keep him away from today's decider.
Whelan suffered shocking injuries in a motorbike accident last Tuesday week but will be in his characteristic spot on the sideline today, albeit in a wheelchair.
"I broke four bones in my shoulder so working is out of the question," Whelan said from his hospital bed this week. "But I will go out there in a walking frame and just sit - I don't want to miss it."
Bedsy on Knight shift
FORMER Origin skipper Danny Buderus is heading back to the Newcastle Knights for one final season in the NRL. The deal was stitched up by new coach Wayne Bennett after weeks of negotiations to get a release from the Leeds Rhinos.
"It is fantastic news that Danny will play his final year with the Newcastle Knights, " Knights CEO Matt Gidley said of his former team-mate. "Danny was always a popular member of the team, not just for his on-field brilliance but for the person he is off the field."
Gyng's grand plan
NINE boss David Gyngell has floated the radical idea of playing the Toyota Cup grand final on Friday night next year at the SFS. "I'd love to televise it in prime time," Gyngell told me yesterday.
"It's a showcase of the very best young talent in rugby league and I'm sure it would rate well as a stand alone game on grand final weekend.."
