Willie Mason signs for North Queensland Cowboys

[Talanexor]

I disagree

Gash's contract is up and unless he plays like mal meninga you would think he is gone. Carl Webb likewise should be house hunting in the UK at the end of the 2010 season so between them there would be what, 250 - 300 k we could offer Mason plus third party stuff.

OF course his game this season be as good as Garrick Morgan's was for the Crushers in 95 and we have only lost 60k.

(For the younger posters you might have trouble getting understanding this )

Would prefer to re-sign/upgrade Luke O'Donnell, Steve Rapira and James Tamou with that money. And maybe sign a decent outside back or two.

 

[butchmcdick]

Would prefer to re-sign/upgrade Luke O'Donnell, Steve Rapira and James Tamou with that money. And maybe sign a decent outside back or two.

Yeah if we can get tamou, LOD and rapira to stay we should be ok in the pack.

Our backline apart from thurston, tonga and bowen (when fit) is pretty ordinary. When have we ever had a decent 5/8 ?

 

[LazyDreamer]

I disagree

Gash's contract is up and unless he plays like mal meninga you would think he is gone. Carl Webb likewise should be house hunting in the UK at the end of the 2010 season so between them there would be what, 250 - 300 k we could offer Mason plus third party stuff.

OF course his game this season be as good as Garrick Morgan's was for the Crushers in 95 and we have only lost 60k.

(For the younger posters you might have trouble getting understanding this )

I'm a tad confused. If your last sentence is in reference to your second-last sentence, are you saying that today's youth would struggle to understand abysmal grammar? f**k - I must be young at heart! :crazy:

 

[Chachi]

Perhaps I didn't explain it clearly. It's not that Mason only wanted a one-year deal, it's that the Cowboys were only prepared to OFFER him a one-year deal.

It's a lifeline, a chance to get his career back on track and a cheap pickup for the Cowboys. It's not like we've been after him for a while, and saw him as the future of our club.

I don't care if he wins a Dally M this year, I can't see us affording 400K a season for a forward. So I doubt the Cowboys will keep him around past 2010 unless he fires and even then, it'll be on a much MUCH reduced salary.

Besides, until Thurston's contract is settled, we won't be signing anyone. Mason was an opportunistic one-off, not a planned recruitment.

Trust me, stop gap opportunistic signings are a sh*t way to rebuild a club. Picking up bargains has recently worked for teams like Melbourne with players like Finch and Crocker as they have been one or two players off being the number 1 side. IMO you blokes are not in that position - you should be looking for stability.

I really hope it works out for your sake because if it all starts to go pear shaped early in the season you'll be wishing it never happened. The last thing the Cowboys need is both Thurston and Mason carrying on about making big dollars elsewhere.

He won't see this as a lifeline. His ego is way too big for that.

I could end up with egg on my face, but this move is actually a massive risk for the Cowboys.

 

[beave]

If Mason starts to act like a clown, Billy Johnstone will sort him out on the training fields...............


It is bull$hit hot up here at the moment, I think Willie will be too busy trying to recover after the gruelling sessions than to go out on the town and p!ss it up. I've been back home here for 7 summers now, and this has been the most unbearable of the lot. He will be struggling in the first few weeks until he gets used to the humidity. Thursday night it only got down to 27c with humidity up around the 80% mark, thats how bad it has been. If people think he is in for an easy time, I can guarantee you he is gonna be in some pain. Because he has missed a lot of pre-season training, I think you will find that whilst the rest of the team would be looking at more game type training drills and ball work in prep for the trial games, Willie will be putting some miles on his legs and sweating it out in the gym.

Look, he is a clown and has a big mouth, but he can play. And whilst he may have had some dramas in the past, they don't even compare to the $hit that other players get up to these days and I can't really think of a time where he has been a grub on the field so to be honest, I am glad he is coming for the price we paid. If he was that bad a person and trainer, do you think Billy Johnstone (who would have had 2 years of Mason at the Dogs before he came here in 2002) would have let him come here???????

And I really pity the Newcastle fans having a dig at the Cowboys and NQ. We got Willie, but I wouldn't have been carrying on if he had signed with the knights like some have been in here. Taking pot shots at the team and the local community up here is honestly f#$king pathetic.

 

[roopy]

 

[Loudstrat]

Trust me, stop gap opportunistic signings are a sh*t way to rebuild a club. Picking up bargains has recently worked for teams like Melbourne with players like Finch and Crocker as they have been one or two players off being the number 1 side. IMO you blokes are not in that position - you should be looking for stability.

I really hope it works out for your sake because if it all starts to go pear shaped early in the season you'll be wishing it never happened. The last thing the Cowboys need is both Thurston and Mason carrying on about making big dollars elsewhere.

He won't see this as a lifeline. His ego is way too big for that.

I could end up with egg on my face, but this move is actually a massive risk for the Cowboys.

A risk at $60k? They'll be on top if he makes 10 tackles a game!

And a one year deal. Very astute buying I would have thought!

 

[Cerne Abbas Giant]

If Mason is as good as Kaufusi, good luck to the Cowgirls.

 

[beave]

they could have honestly grabbed a drunken bum out of the crowd at each game and he/she would have performed better than Kafusi. He has probably been one of the most disappointing signings we have ever had up here in 10 years.

 

[Chachi]

A risk at $60k? They'll be on top if he makes 10 tackles a game!

And a one year deal. Very astute buying I would have thought!

Forget about how he performs on the field. It's the off field distractions of club hunting during the season which may be the big negative. And anyway, if he makes 10 tackles and misses 5, or makes 50 metres a game off 12 hitups then he's not a good buy - he's a bloke taking minutes off someone who would otherwise be contributing more to the team.

If they make the finals and have a good season then yeah, it's a $60 grand bargain. I'm just saying if it goes pear shaped then it could be a real sh*t season for North Queensland if the newspapers go to town on how Thurston, Mason and Webb are focussed on looking for another club (or another sport altogether).

 

[roopy]

Funny story.
I took that pic of Rodney Mason this afternoon at a Knights v Dogs NYC trial and i was sitting just behind the Dogs coaching group. As they watched Mason play they were saying how much like Willie he looks, and then he did something stupid, panicked, and did something even more stupid, and they all burst out laughing and said 'He's a Mason alright'.

 

[Canard]

If they make the finals and have a good season then yeah, it's a $60 grand bargain. I'm just saying if it goes pear shaped then it could be a real sh*t season for North Queensland if the newspapers go to town on how Thurston, Mason and Webb are focussed on looking for another club (or another sport altogether).

If he is a distraction or problem, get rid of him $60K down the drain but no big loss in the NRL grand scheme of htings.

What makes you think if he is playing sh*t, he will continue to be in first grade at the expense of someone more deserving??? I very much doubt he has a "Paul Harragon" clause that says he must be picked?

Webb looking for another club would be a distraction for NO-ONE! Most fans want him gone now, heck he almost left last season(got given permission to negoitate etc.) but for the fact that Wigan realised that he wanted way too much money for his current level of play.

 

[Talanexor]

Trust me, stop gap opportunistic signings are a sh*t way to rebuild a club. Picking up bargains has recently worked for teams like Melbourne with players like Finch and Crocker as they have been one or two players off being the number 1 side. IMO you blokes are not in that position - you should be looking for stability.

I really hope it works out for your sake because if it all starts to go pear shaped early in the season you'll be wishing it never happened. The last thing the Cowboys need is both Thurston and Mason carrying on about making big dollars elsewhere.

He won't see this as a lifeline. His ego is way too big for that.

I could end up with egg on my face, but this move is actually a massive risk for the Cowboys.

Our forward pack is good. Plenty of minutes and plenty of metres in them.

Our halves stocks are pretty good too, although no-one has really established themselves as a five-eighth. Most Cows fans want to move Matty Bowen to 5/8 permanently because we know JT will let him have the ball instead of overriding everything he tries to do.

The only area we suck at is the outside backs. And fortunately there are plenty of talented outside backs around, most of whom would be pretty cheap.

Willie might help us jag a premiership, might cover injuries or might spend 2010 playing QLD Cup. For 60K who cares?

 

[butchmcdick]

Our forward pack is good. Plenty of minutes and plenty of metres in them.

Our halves stocks are pretty good too, although no-one has really established themselves as a five-eighth. Most Cows fans want to move Matty Bowen to 5/8 permanently because we know JT will let him have the ball instead of overriding everything he tries to do.

The only area we suck at is the outside backs. And fortunately there are plenty of talented outside backs around, most of whom would be pretty cheap.

Willie might help us jag a premiership, might cover injuries or might spend 2010 playing QLD Cup. For 60K who cares?

Isn't bowen a bit too small to be 5/8

 

[Charlie124]

He's been playing as a 5/8 for ages now anyway, just with a number 1 on his back.

 

[Canard]

In attack at times yes he has, but I wouldn't like to see him defend there for any serious game time.

I don't think Matty is our real solution to this issue in the long term either.

Hopefully one of the young guys can step up this season.

 

[butchmcdick]

In attack at times yes he has, but I wouldn't like to see him defend there for any serious game time.

I don't think Matty is our real solution to this issue in the long term either.

Hopefully one of the young guys can step up this season.

I see we have the stig playing at 5/8 in a trial

 

[Talanexor]

In attack at times yes he has, but I wouldn't like to see him defend there for any serious game time.

I don't think Matty is our real solution to this issue in the long term either.

Hopefully one of the young guys can step up this season.

His tackling technique one-on-one is superb. He regularly makes trysaving tackles on bigger men. And besides, defending at 5/8 he'll have Scott Bolton on one side to help and (possibly) Luke O'Donnell on the other.

Preston Campbell goes alright at five-eighth, and he's smaller than Bowen. A bloke by the name of Darren Lockyer does pretty well at 5/8 too, and he can't tackle for sh*t.

I think Bowen will have lost too much pace for the fullback position from here on in. He's far too talented to leave out of the side altogether though, so I think it'll have to be 5/8 for him. Assuming Gallant is half-decent anyway.

I'd prefer to give him a shot there anyway. If he turns into a speedbump, move him back to fullback.

 

[Big Pete]

Lockyer was one of the best defensive fullbacks. The move to five eigth is a big adjustment and shouldn't be taken so lightly.

 

[Shorty]

My goodness I thought that was a photoshopped Willie?
Looks just like him, right down to his gait!