Toronto Wolfpack star Sonny Bill Williams back training with the Roosters

SYDNEY, Australia — Toronto Wolfpack star Sonny Bill Williams was back training Saturday, this time with the Sydney Roosters.

It marked the first session back with the NRL team since 2014 for the former All Blacks star, who has joined Sydney on loan from the financially troubled Wolfpack.

The 35-year-old Williams is targeting the Roosters’ Sept. 5 game with the Canberra Raiders as a return to action.

“Mentally I would like to say I am ready now but physically I know I am underdone,” Williams told the Australian Associated Press. “I haven’t run for three weeks. I haven’t played for six months, I am coming off (knee) surgery.

“I am like most other sportsmen where I would like to go straight away. But once I am going I want to be going, with no hiccups.”

Williams came out of his two-week quarantine Thursday after landing in Australia from England.

The Wolfpack stepped down July 20, saying they could not afford to play out the remainder of the English Super League season. The transatlantic rugby league team had been sidelined since mid-March due to the global pandemic with Williams taking advantage of the hiatus to have minor knee surgery.

The Toronto team, which is currently for sale, has told its players they are free to go out on loan the remainder of the season. Williams, one of the Wolfpack’s two marquee players, is under contract to Toronto in 2021, but the future of the franchise remains up in the air.

Several other Wolfpack players have already made a move. New Zealand forward Bodene Thompson (Leeds Rhinos), Australian-born Ricky Leutele (Melbourne Storm) and Gareth O’Brien (Castleford Tigers) are all wearing different colours.

Toronto has not made its payroll since June 10, with majority owner David Argyle stepping away from the franchise.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2020.

The Canadian Press