$2m bid for Sonny and Quade
THE Brisbane bid team has made official moves to poach Sonny Bill Williams and Quade Cooper from rugby union as the prospective NRL franchise tries to lure the duo with a multi-million-dollar package deal.
The Brisbane consortium formally contacted the pair's manager, Khoder Nasser, on Tuesday expressing a desire to bring them to the NRL for their proposed entry in 2013.
Nasser, who also represents boxer Anthony Mundine, said both Williams and Cooper would seriously weigh up a switch after this year's Rugby World Cup.
The Brisbane consortium faces an uphill battle luring either of the pair. Salary cap constraints aside, the organisation has yet to secure an NRL licence and even if it did, any potential playing targets would need to find an alternative home for the 2012 season.
But with the NRL poised to make a call on expansion in coming months, the Brisbane bid team is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to become Queensland's fourth team.
"We don't know whether we're in or not, but we have approached Quade and Sonny," Brisbane bid delegate Bill Rae said.
"We want Quade and Sonny Bill to get their World Cup campaigns out of the way first, but once that is done we will up the ante for them.
"We've started talks with these guys and we want them on board. We believe we can offer them a great opportunity to potentially be part of history and obviously they would be the perfect recruits for us.
"We're being realistic about this. At the moment we don't have an NRL licence and the New Zealand Rugby Union [with whom Williams in contracted] will be hard to beat when it comes down to dollars. Because we don't have a history, we need some special talent to build the club from scratch and we'd love to see Quade and Sonny on our wall as the originals."
The Brisbane consortium may struggle to table a palatable offer for Williams, who rejected $2 million-a-season from French rugby side Toulon last year to sign with the New Zealand Rugby Union.
But with the 25-year-old clear to resume his NRL career in 2013 - he is currently banned for the duration of the five-year Bulldogs contract he walked out on in 2008 - the timing of Brisbane's planned entry could help bring Williams back to rugby league.
Wallabies star Cooper remains a free agent for 2012. The Reds are desperate to retain him, but Cooper has told close friends he wants to one day test himself in the NRL and had secret talks with Parramatta last August.
"I can confirm that I have had an approach from the Brisbane bid team," Nasser said. "It's flattering that these people know who the cream of the crop are and want to bring the best of the best to their franchise.
"Of course [a return to league] is something Sonny will consider, he started his career playing rugby league.
"Quade has a phenomenal passing, running and kicking game and this is a guy who has got one metre to play with. It's been proven by many athletes, including Sonny, that if you are great in rugby league you can be successful in rugby and vice-versa."
The signing of Williams and Cooper could cost the Brisbane team up to $2m a season, but Rae says the NRL aspirants are determined to build their future around the two rugby stars.
"We're very mindful of who we are talking to," Rae said.
"Everyone knows Sonny's talent, but he has that persona of greatness about him. He would complement our franchise and we think we can bring out the best in him.
"We're trying to make it work for both of us.
"We're not talking five-year deals with these guys. Two years would be a fair start because we would get the best out of each other and if they wanted to play rugby overseas after that, that's their decision."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/rugby/m-bid-for-sonny-and-quade/story-e6frey4i-1226040209842
