‘Hard to watch’: Willie Mason comes clean on return to Bulldogs

Willie Mason has opened up on why he made it back to Canterbury and how he has already helped turn the Bulldogs around.

A simple video from Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould set tongues wagging as it was revealed Canterbury great Willie Mason had returned to the training paddock.

The clip of the hulking 41-year-old overseeing pre-season training and wearing the blue and white for the first time in 14 years is a sight for sore eyes among Bulldogs fans.

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Mason started his career at Belmore, playing 148 matches and representing NSW, Tonga and Australia while at the club. Later in his career, he moved around to the Roosters, Cowboys, Knights and Sea Eagles as well as the English Super League.

Mason was part of the Bulldogs’ last premiership win in 2004, even winning the Clive Churchill Medal for the player of the Grand Final, he has kept his distance in retirement — until now.

The Bulldogs are looking to rebound after a horror run as it’s now been five seasons since they’ve played finals footy. They also claimed the wooden spoon in 2021.

Gould was hired as the general manager of football and Mason has come along for the ride.

He said he has a good relationship with Gould and coach Trent Barrett from Origin and Kangaroos tours, telling the Sydney Morning Herald he is “Gus’s not-so-little right-hand man” but doesn’t have a set role.

Willie Mason has returned to the Bulldogs. Photo: Twitter

Mason said he was set to come back last year but the internal politics and Covid made it difficult.

“When we had meetings, I said, ‘I know the club, I know the DNA, I know what I can bring to the club’,” Mason said. “I’m passionate about helping the team and the juniors develop physically and mentally.

“I want to show them what it means to put the jersey on, not just for them but to everyone who has represented this club.

“People need to appreciate what it means to be a Bulldog. It’s not a case of rolling up and collecting a pay cheque, which seems to have happened the past few years.

“It’s been hard to watch. The Bulldogs are not meant to finish last. We’re a proud club. Hopefully the bad days are gone. I’m just here to help.”

Mason added he was looking forward to moulding firebrand Jack Hetherington and told Nine News he had already helped add to the side’s forward pack.

The Bulldogs went on a signing blitz this off-season, adding the likes of backs Josh Addo-Carr, Brent Naden, Matt Dufty and Matt Burton but also forwards including Tevita Pangai Jr. from the Broncos and Paul Vaughan, who was sacked from the Dragons last season.

Mason said he was directly involved in bringing Vaughan and Pangai Jr. to the club.

“(Working with Pangai) was one of the reasons I did come back. I spoke to Tevita Pangai Jr. before he decided to come down,” Mason said.

“John Khoury rang me and said reach out to him because I’ve known the kid since he was 12, he’s a Newcastle junior, so I gave him a ring. I sort of got him over the line, got Paul Vaughan over the line.”

Who better to have than Big Willie. Photo: AAP Image/Action Photographics/Robb Cox

Mason won’t just work with the forwards, hoping to instil more old school Bulldogs values in the entire playing group.

“Just help mentor them. Teach them, not just about rugby league, (but) about life, and what comes at you as a rugby league player,” he said.

“I’ve seen plenty, I’ve lived that life and come out the other side. I’ve achieved everything in the game, I just want to give back now.”

Mason also said the board in-fighting which destabilised the club last season had corrected itself.

“It was very political, and that’s probably one of the reasons I never felt like I belonged back at the club,” Mason said.

“A lot of ex-players feel like that, but now they’ve got the right people there, especially with Gus.”

He was Man of the Match in Canterbury's 2004 Grand Final victory, but Willie Mason has always felt like an outcast at the Bulldogs.

Now, having lived a lot of life, Mason believes his experience can help lift the club off the bottom of the ladder. @Danny_Weidler#9Newspic.twitter.com/0kZQWpO3Vj

— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) November 16, 2021

Mason is the latest in a long line of former players going back to their old clubs.

In the last month, it’s been confirmed Benji Marshall will return to the Wests Tigers as a club ambassador, Andrew Johns joined the Newcastle Knights’ coaching staff and Johnathan Thurston has come on board at the North Queensland Cowboys to help mentor their halves.