New Bulls recruit Adam Henry learned from the best in the business during his time at Sydney Roosters – Sonny Bill Williams.

Henry has spent the past two seasons at the NRL outfit and trained alongside the cross-code Kiwi legend throughout the 2013 campaign.

Williams, universally regarded as the greatest rugby player in the world in either code, returned to league at the start of the season and helped the Roosters to Grand Final glory.

Henry has largely played for the Newtown Jets – the Roosters’ reserve side – but still trained with his parent club.

The 22-year-old centre said: “I’ve spent the past two seasons at the Roosters and if you’re not playing first-grade then you have the Jets.

“I played maybe half my games at the Jets in the first year and this year I’ve been mainly with them again.

“But we all trained together, so we still felt like we were a part of the main group at the Roosters even though not many of us played first-grade this year.

“That’s what I really loved; playing reserve grade but still being in the fold at a club who obviously won the championship.

“The competition at the Roosters is very intense and there were a few established players such as Michael Oldfield who missed out so it was a strong squad.”

Training alongside the likes of Anthony Minichiello and particularly Sonny Bill was an experience to savour for Henry.

He explained: “Sonny Bill’s aura and the way he conducts himself was awesome.

“I actually went to the same school as him in Auckland – Mount Albert Grammar.

“I didn’t know him back then because he’s a few years older than me but he loved the fact that we both went to Mount Albert and were now in Sydney.

“We could relate to each other and the way we grew up because we were both kids from Auckland. He’s an inspiration and someone you cannot fail to learn from.”