THE NRL's involvement in court action against Sonny Bill Williams is in doubt amid revelations of an approach yesterday to Benji Marshall to join his Kiwis teammate in French rugby union.

Australian agent Greg Keenan, who manages Willie Mason, Wendell Sailor and Matt Henjak among others, contacted Marshall's manager, Martin Tauber, yesterday to advise he was in the process of setting up an office in Toulon and could help facilitate a deal for the Wests Tigers five-eighth.

Keenan made the phone call after reading in yesterday's Herald that Marshall would consider offers from rugby, and Tauber asked to be kept informed of any opportunities for his star client. It is understood Keenan has approached other agents and even some players directly with similar offers to help find them lucrative French rugby union deals.

"Greg rang me this morning when I was on my way to Concord Oval [to see Marshall] just to tell me he was in Toulon and was establishing an office there," Tauber said. "He had read the story and said if there was anything he could do to help Benji he would. I just told him to let me know if anything came up."

The revelation about Keenan's bid to entice other players to follow Williams to French rugby union comes as the NRL considers withdrawing as a plaintiff in the court challenge to the renegade Bulldog.

The Herald was yesterday told the NRL had obtained legal advice from Sydney barrister John Marshall, SC, that it did not have a cause of action against Williams, and the Bulldogs will have to fight the case on their own. However, the NRL will assist with funding the Bulldogs' bid to prevent Williams from playing for Toulon after walking out on the remaining four years of his contract.

The lawyer representing the NRL and the Bulldogs, Tony O'Reilly, refused to comment on the legal advice the NRL had received when contacted yesterday. The parties are due to return to court on Tuesday but will seek another order to subpoena Williams if he has not been located before then. The elusiveness of Williams and Khoder Nasser, who had been managing the 22-year-old superstar before his sudden departure for France last Saturday has further annoyed the Bulldogs and the NRL as they struggle to come to terms with what has happened.

"It's very frustrating, we're only trying to get to the bottom of what's going on here [with Williams's sudden departure from the club]," Bulldogs lawyer John Carmody said. "Ultimately, we'll find these things out, but this just puts another hurdle in our way."

The court had given the club until 10am on Thursday to serve Nasser with the papers requiring him to provide any information he had about Williams's whereabouts. Although the deadline had passed, Carmody said the game was not over.

"If the court is satisfied that he's just taking evasive action to avoid coming to court to avoid … they can make alternative methods … [such as] allowing us to serve on an address known to be the address of Khoder, or on someone known to be close to him."

The club also has until 6pm tomorrow to serve a subpoena on Williams to either appear at Tuesday's injunction hearing or provide a representative.

Meanwhile, Henjak predicted more players would head to France, and described Toulon, with its cobblestone streets, market stalls, cafes, bars and shops, as an attractive place to play - particularly after being given a Volkswagen convertible and an apartment close to the beach.

"I think it's an attractive option for the top Australian players that are earning big money in Australia but they could earn a lot more over here without the salary cap put on them," he told AAP.