Our odds are getting better.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-marching-orders/story-e6frexnr-1225790888872
WILLIE Mason is less than two weeks away from being sacked by the Sydney Roosters.
Chief executive Steve Noyce and new coach Brian Smith have had approval from the board to negotiate a release from the final year of his contract. Senior players, including skipper Braith Anasta, have been consulted and are supporting management.
The club is now waiting for his agent Greg Keenan to return from England. Keenan has been quietly looking for deals for Mason in Europe for rugby league and union as well as exploring opportunities in Japanese rugby.
Mason is the Roosters' highest paid player, earning about $450,000 a season. It's understood he has already been offered $100,000 to "walk away'', but he wants double that. Opportunities for a player on his salary to stay in the NRL are just about zero.
Mason is now seen by most clubs as damaged goods and a bad influence on younger players. It was Roosters supremo Nick Politis who made the decision to sign Mason from the Bulldogs at a time when Phil Gould was writing him up as a future State of Origin captain.
The former Test forward sustained a serious knee injury in his first season at the club and has never been the same player since.