George Williams will be happy if Wayne Bennett or Shaun Wane bosses England
GEORGE Williams is ready to stay in Wayne’s world with England – or Wane’s world. The future of the national coach is set to be decided next week, with Aussie Wayne Bennett wanting to lead the bid for next year’s World Cup. But his former boss at Wigan, Shaun Wane, is also a contender, leaving […]
GEORGE Williams is ready to stay in Wayne’s world with England – or Wane’s world.
The future of the national coach is set to be decided next week, with Aussie Wayne Bennett wanting to lead the bid for next year’s World Cup.
But his former boss at Wigan, Shaun Wane, is also a contender, leaving Williams in a no lose situation if it is down to those two.
And he feels his move from the Warriors to NRL side Canberra Raiders can bring even more out of him – he also encouraged others English players to follow in his footsteps.
Williams said: “I don’t know what’s going on but either decision I’d be happy with.
“Wayne’s been a good mentor for me and Shaun gave me my chance at Wigan. It’s not my decision but I’d be happy either way.
“I hope other English players make the move. It can only develop English players better. The NRL is the best competition in the world, so why not test yourself? That’s what I’ve come to do.
“I’m here to get better, learn and progress my game. Every sportsman wants to progress, if not you’re in the wrong thing.
“And hopefully being consistent in the NRL can put my foot in the door for international duties.”
Stand-off Williams has had an interesting introduction to life in Australia. After bushfires caused the Raiders to move training to Queensland, damaging golf ball-sixed hailstones hit the capital.
That mixed with ‘gruesome’ training sessions, a language barrier and a shock introduction to Aussie wildlife on the Sunshine Coast provided a crash course to life down under.
The 25-year-old added: “My second day in Canberra saw it full of smoke and we were warned not to leave the house it was that bad – that was something different for me!
“Tom Starling brought a massive spider into mine and John Bateman’s room but he’s more scared of them than me.
“When I saw the size of it, we shot up – it was that big! I won’t be going looking for spiders, snakes or anything like that.
“100 per cent there’s a language barrier, even though we’re both meant to speak English. Some of the boys don’t understand me and I don’t understand them for a few seconds.
“Someone said, ‘gronk’ to me the other day, I didn’t know how that was. It’s also things like, ‘brah (brother)’ and, ‘how good’. If I ever said them to my mates back home, they’d hammer me!”
Williams is among familiar accents. He is one of five Poms looking to go one better than last year’s NRL Grand Final loss.
He is currently living with fellow Wiganer Ryan Sutton but moving 10,000 miles from home was his choice and he is happy with his decision.
“Sutty and Hudson Young are good. They cook my teas and make me feel welcome – I’m sure that will wear off the longer I’m in!
“I’m a long way from home but I’m not on my own. There are four others in the same boat as me and I’m sure they’re missing family like I do but we’re here for ourselves as a career.”