'You would go to war for George Williams': Canberra Raiders team-mate's impassioned defence

Hodgson, the Raiders' former co-captain, has been upset by some of the comments about the ex-Wigan halfback in the Australian media following his exit from the NRL club. Raiders legend Gary Belcher said Williams was leaving the club "in the lurch".

Williams' own post on social media, clarifying his stance and insisting he never wanted to leave immediately, was liked by some of his Raiders team-mates.

And Hodgson told Sydney's Daily Telegraph: "It just doesn’t make sense why we can’t let him go at the end of the year, but all of a sudden he has gone now.

"But for me I have seen how much stick George is copping… we all love George to death. We have known since his missus fell pregnant that he has been struggling for a long time to get settled and keep his missus settled. But he busts his arse every day for us and when you see all these things about him turning his back on his team and all that, it hurts. It’s like watching your mate getting kicked in the street and just standing by watching. I feel like you’ve got to say something to tell people what a good lad he is.

"Not once did he kick stones or make a fuss or say that he didn’t want to do x, y or z. Obviously this week about training he couldn’t come in. But, mate, we have all had them days when you have got dramas going on and you are a bit down in the dumps and there are times when you need a bit of a day off. That is certainly not a normal thing for George to do. The picture that is being painted is just not the picture of what George is and what he is about and what a good club kind of player he is.

He is the type of kid who you would go to war for. He is just a legend of a bloke. And I am sure if you ask anyone at the club they will tell you he is a legend of a bloke."