By Andrew Webster Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE decision to cut Willie Mason adrift was made before Brian Smith was appointed coach. It is a directive that won't change. Mason won't play in the Tricolours again.
"I seriously doubt he will be playing first grade for the Roosters," captain Braith Anasta said in an exclusive blog for The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "But I'm sure he'll play first grade somewhere and I wish him all the best."
Smith won't comment on the situation and chief executive Steve Noyce would only offer: "Willie and I have had a number of chats about his involvement here and the opportunities that may have been elsewhere. How that plays out, I'm not sure."
Behind the scenes, those who matter steadfastly believe that Mason has no place at their club. It is a belief held firm by chairman Nick Politis and the board, and was in place long before Smith was announced as Brad Fittler's replacement. Smith has merely stayed out of it.
The decision to sign Mason in late 2007 had a whiff of getting one up on the Bulldogs, the side that beat them in the 2004 Grand Final.
Now Mason has the Roosters over a barrel. The Roosters won't pay out the final year of his contract - reportedly worth about $400,000 - so another NRL side can snap him up in the second-tier salary cap.
That they are prepared to sacrifice that amount as they cultivate a new culture is significant.
The perception at the top is that Mason has been a toxic influence on the younger players. Many felt he undermined Fittler during the year.
Whether he relocates to Japan, France, another NRL club or the Roosters' feeder club Newtown is of little consequence to the powers that be.
THE decision to cut Willie Mason adrift was made before Brian Smith was appointed coach. It is a directive that won't change. Mason won't play in the Tricolours again.
"I seriously doubt he will be playing first grade for the Roosters," captain Braith Anasta said in an exclusive blog for The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "But I'm sure he'll play first grade somewhere and I wish him all the best."
Smith won't comment on the situation and chief executive Steve Noyce would only offer: "Willie and I have had a number of chats about his involvement here and the opportunities that may have been elsewhere. How that plays out, I'm not sure."
Behind the scenes, those who matter steadfastly believe that Mason has no place at their club. It is a belief held firm by chairman Nick Politis and the board, and was in place long before Smith was announced as Brad Fittler's replacement. Smith has merely stayed out of it.
The decision to sign Mason in late 2007 had a whiff of getting one up on the Bulldogs, the side that beat them in the 2004 Grand Final.
Now Mason has the Roosters over a barrel. The Roosters won't pay out the final year of his contract - reportedly worth about $400,000 - so another NRL side can snap him up in the second-tier salary cap.
That they are prepared to sacrifice that amount as they cultivate a new culture is significant.
The perception at the top is that Mason has been a toxic influence on the younger players. Many felt he undermined Fittler during the year.
Whether he relocates to Japan, France, another NRL club or the Roosters' feeder club Newtown is of little consequence to the powers that be.
