So like a thief in the night Rugby League star Sonny Bill Williams scuttles off for a bucket full of euros and the sweet life of France. Back home there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth. "It was a dog act", says former league hard man, Mark Geyer. And that was the nicest of the comments.

Everyone is very dark on Sonny.

When the Chicago White Sox were caught rigging the 1919 Baseball World Series a young fan famously pleaded to ‘Shoeless' Joe Jackson, "say it aint so, Joe".

But "so" it was.

"Say it aint so, Sonny",

Yup "so" it is.

Bad, bad Sonny Bill.

Or is he?

The debit side of the ledger for the League star (former) now footy ‘fugitive' is this: he's walked out on a contract; he's left his mates in the lurch; he took, you could argue, the easy option rather than the ethical one. And all of that is crook.

But here's the other side, the granite tough and outrageously talented Sonny played in a league that stacks the odds against the players. The salary cap is just that; a cap on what players can earn. What other business says to its very best employees, "yeah we know you're good, we know in an open market you'd be worth twice or three times what we pay you but you know what we're not going to pay you that. In fact we're going to nobble the free market so you earn a lot less than you're worth. And there's nothing you can do. So shove that in your pipe and smoke it."

Speak about loyalty.

Now I imagine this started to eat away at the tattooed man, aka Sonny (his surname is inked from right shoulder blade to left just in case he gets lost and somebody finds him and needs to hand him in. It'll be really handy in old age).

I imagine it made Sonny gloomy.

Yes, he was on a good whack but that was only ever going to be for a short time. Once injuries and age took their toll he was never going to earn anything like this. So he's got one chance to get it right - to maximise his earnings and set himself up for the rest of his non-playing life.

And then those dastardly French enter the picture.

"Allo, allo Monsieur Sonny. We ‘ave zo much money it is zo not funny. Zo Sonny, you want some?"

"Ay Bro. Choice."

Loyalty is often spoken about in the NRL or AFL or Soccer or Rugby. But too often it is a one way street. "Stay loyal to the club mate, don't let your mates down mate, stick with us mate, and by-the-way mate if you do mate we wont be able to pay you as much mate but you know that loyalty is worth more than any pay rise mate."

See where that loyalty gets that player once their form drops or the injuries set in.

"Sorry mate, time for you to go mate".

That's where.

So as much as Sonny Bill now ranks somewhat lower than a used car dealer who mistreats puppy dogs and fluffy kittens and swallows gold fish for breakfast I can see where he's coming from or, in this case, going to. When you stack the odds it shouldn't surprise when players reach for another deck.