There's no bad blood between me and Kiddy
Willie Mason
April 1, 2007
THERE'S going to be plenty of hype about me coming up against David Kidwell when we play the Bunnies on Friday because his hit on me during the Tri-Nations series last year was one of the tournament's highlights.
It got everyone talking, but my view on having my bones rattled by him is simply this: that's rugby league. Sometimes you give some out, sometimes you cop it.
On that night I copped it because Kidwell got me a beauty.
When we cross paths on Friday, I won't be looking for a square-off. Don't get me wrong, if there's an opportunity to hit him hard but fair, I'll take it and I expect "Kiddy" to do the same.
But I'm not going to build up the match as payback time.
After starting the season with two losses, we need to win and to do that the players - me included - must focus on ourselves rather than any revenge garbage.
A lot will be said about how Kiddy and I are out to get each other, but he is a great bloke and we get along well.
We enjoyed a drink after the series and had a laugh about being the headline attraction of the Tri-Nations tournament.
I guess players can turn that kind of thing - a big hit - into a feud but my view is he was playing for New Zealand and I was playing for Australia, and we were both doing our best.
As far as I'm concerned, there are no hard feelings and there's no bad blood between us. I won't be going out of my way to try to tackle him or hurt him.
I've said in the past that during a game Kidwell doesn't come into the middle too often, but that's because he's a different style of player.
He likes to lurk out on the fringes while I play tighter. For that reason, having me chase him around the field would be a complete waste of energy.
It's going to be a strange experience playing against Roy Asotasi. He was a big part of the Bulldogs for many years. He came up through the grades just after me. He's been in a grand final side and been a massive part of our success.
It will be tough, but he wears a different jersey these days, so I'll have to tackle him.
Roy has said the Souths pack can match it with anyone on their day and I have to agree with him.
While Bulldogs v Souths should be a great game, my immediate concern is the Gold Coast Titans match today.
It's going to be a special day because we'll have more than 200 former Bulldogs and Berries players at Telstra Stadium.
It's our plan to honour them with a win.
Kidwell V Mason=Someone KO'ed
