Knights use club culture to lure star
BY BRETT KEEBLE
THE Knights are confident the club's culture is strong enough to accommodate Willie Mason's larger-than-life personality, and that they can provide a suitable environment for him to resurrect his rugby league career.
After a 21/2-hour meeting of the club's football committee yesterday, which discussed the advantages and disadvantages of recruiting the ostracised Sydney Roosters forward, Knights chief executive Steve Burraston said the path had been cleared to open negotiations with Mason.
Knights football committee chairman Paul Harragon, one of four club directors on that panel, then briefed the other five members of the nine-man Knights board Allan McKeown, Leigh Maughan, Vince Murphy, Nick Dan and John Duncan to formally approve that recommendation.
Harragon and Burraston said that once that was done Knights strategic development manager Keith Onslow had permission to speak to Mason and his agent, Greg Keenan, about the prospect of him playing for Newcastle this year.
Onslow was expected to contact Mason last night to start the ball rolling.
"He makes a good fit. He's from Newcastle, his family lives at Charlestown, his brother [Rodney] is already at the club, so I'm pretty sure he'd be interested to have a chat with us," said Burraston, who remained undaunted by drug allegations against former Knights prop Danny Wicks.
Though Wicks is scheduled to face court next month, and speculation remains that other Newcastle players could be implicated, Burraston believed the club's policies and procedures, the approval of sponsors and fans, and the strength of their senior player group would provide the right climate and conditions for Mason to succeed on and off the field.
Burraston said positive feedback from their 10 major sponsors, and a Knights website poll in which 83 per cent of respondents were in favour of having Mason at the club, convinced the committee that they were doing the right thing in pursuing him.
"There was a lot of debate but no opposition. It was things like, 'Are we doing the right thing?', 'Are we sending the right message?', 'Is there a risk?', 'What are the risks associated with it?'," Burraston said.
"Then there was all the positives, like, 'What does he bring to the club?', and 'What does he bring to the football team?'
"After all that we were very much buoyed by the feedback we got from our members and sponsors, who were pretty overwhelming in support of bringing Willie to the club for a number of reasons.
"More than anything, the indication they gave us was that they felt that we had the right policies and the right culture in place that would give him an opportunity to turn around and resurrect his career, and give him the best opportunity to succeed, which was nice to hear."
But if the Knights proceeded as far as securing Mason's signature on a contract for this season, Burraston said they would reserve the right to tear it up if he stepped out of line.
"Any contract that we draw up will have strict behavioural clauses included and we will have the availability to terminate if the need did arise," he said.
Stone, who met with Mason last Sunday night, hoped Mason's friendship with Knights captain Kurt Gidley and long-time relationship with Onslow would give Newcastle an edge.
"I spoke to him [Mason] a little bit about where we're heading and that he could fit into that, and he was pretty positive that he could," Stone said.
"I think Kurt has a pretty decent relationship with Willie, that's for sure. They've been speaking regularly over the last couple of weeks.
"Kurt's the NSW captain, he's our captain, he's obviously a local bloke born and bred and played here all his life, so he understands the enormity of where the club's at.
"It's pretty important to discuss things in detail here and there's some pros and cons, definitely, about a Willie Mason coming to the club.
"But in the end, it was pretty much unanimous that without Wicksy, we could do with another quality forward and these opportunities don't come along every day.
"We believe that our culture is a little bit stronger than it has been . . . it's been building over the last three years and it's probably at its strongest since that '07 season.
"Our senior player group mentioned that they want to be strong on this and they don't want to let the club's reputation be jeopardised in any way. They understand our relationship with the community and how we go is really important for this particular club.
"They hold that pretty highly and understand their responsibilities.
"I think Keith's spoken to him a couple of times in the last couple of days since we met, and it's been pretty positive talking to him and understanding the support he's been getting in the town.
"That support, from the corporates and the punters, has been good, and a good boost for his confidence."
Herald
