Willie Mason is polarising opinion among the 'nutbag redneck' fans of his new club, the North Queensland Cowboys.
One of the major interests in this year's NRL competition will be seeing if big Willie Mason made the right decision - and whether the fans who hate him will come to love him.
Mason's move to the North Queensland Cowboys, instead of the Newcastle Knights, surprised many (including his Newcastle-based mother) and there are already reports that the former Roosters bad boy is polarising local opinion.
Mason, in State of Origin mode, famously called Queensland fans "nutbag rednecks" but now finds himself in the heartland of those he insulted while wearing his New South Wales heart on his sleeve.
According to Australia's Herald-Sun newspaper, North Queensland acknowledge their loyal supporter base is split on last week's decision to extend Mason an NRL lifeline.
Cowboys executive director Peter Parr said the reaction to Mason's one-year deal was proof the ex-test and NSW star was still a divisive influence.
As word emerged of lifelong Cowboys members throwing away their supporters' gear in disgust, Parr said: "Willie polarises people. There's no grey area with him, it's either been passionately for or passionately against. I understand some of his comments in the past have created headlines but if everyone in the world walked around without an opinion it would be a pretty boring place."
Parr said the club's inner sanctum stood 100 per cent behind their controversial recruit.
"I thought it was really important if he was to come to this club that everyone involved gave him 100 per cent approval," Parr said. "We've got that. Everyone is looking forward to supporting him and willing him to succeed."
Certainly the signs point to Mason becoming a major asset for the Cowboys. The opprobrium earned by Mason translated into a possibility that he would end up without an NRL contract - and Mason has talked about how it hit him that he did not know what he had (his NRL career) until it had almost gone.
Whatever else can be said about Mason's lack of judgement and his reputation as a "human headline", he is still a powerful force on the field.
The Cowboys, however, were still rated $26 outsiders to win the 2010 premiership - even with an all-representative forward pack and the world's best player at the helm in Johnathan Thurston.
For all his off-field shenanigans, there is no question that Mason is one of the most talented big men in the NRL. He was criticised for his efforts last season in a below-average year for the Roosters - even though he turned in just under 90m a game and almost 18 tackles a game. Mason's stats are better than all Cowboys forwards last year except for Luke O'Donnell, Shane Tronc and Matt Scott. He also consistently plays more than 60 minutes a game, something only O'Donnell and Scott Bolton can boast at North Queensland.
Mason's mediocre 2009 season can be put down to a number of things but it is key to remember that he was returning from a knee reconstruction, something that takes time for forwards.
He will also stiffen the resolve of the Cowboys pack - a factor that persuaded the Cowboys to take a chance on a player unwanted elsewhere, until his home town Newcastle made a late bid.
It's not just North Queensland getting behind the 24-test veteran, with an unlikely supporter from the ranks of Maroons legends - retired great Wally Lewis.
He backed Mason's move to Townsville and said he was likely to flourish under the guidance of Neil Henry with a point to prove to his new team-mates.
"That's the bonus for Willie, he's probably going to admit that to get back to his best he certainly needs to get a bit of an electric shock," said Lewis to the Herald-Sun. "That'll come from needing to prove to his team-mates that he's still got it. I think the biggest benefit is that change is as good as a holiday in some respects.
"He's going to be playing with a whole new group of players, he'll know he's got to prove himself to them and in particular the coach, Neil Henry, who has been able to get the best out of plenty of footballers around the place."
"They're [the Cowboys] obviously out to get their money's worth. They've lost a couple of big forwards, so they'll be looking for Willie to be able to help out with his size".
However, not everyone believes Mason has made the right choice. Senior Knights players say he is wrong if he believes the Cowboys have a better chance than Newcastle of winning this year's title.
Mason phoned Knights officials late last week to turn down their 11th-hour contract offer and tell them he would join the Cowboys.
One of the main factors the former test forward cited for his decision was that he felt the Cowboys had a superior playing roster to Newcastle - although many think another reason was the attraction of linking with former Bulldogs' colleagues Thurston, Willie Tonga and Ben Harris, all team-mates in the Bulldogs' 2004 title win over the Roosters.
Knights skipper Kurt Gidley said: "I think we've got a great roster ourselves and we know what we're capable of throughout the year. They've certainly got some great players but I'd challenge that one for sure... our goal is to make the semis and we'd like to finish higher than we did last year."
Knights coach Rick Stone said Mason's opinion didn't offend him and agreed that the Cowboys, with Thurston calling the shots, could win any game, "just like when Joey was playing for us".
But while some clubs, including the Cowboys, invest heavily in a handful of elite players, Stone was confident Newcastle would have greater depth across the board.
"We're comfortable where we're at," he said. "When you look at our roster, I think with our players from No 17 to 25 we're probably as strong, if not stronger, than anyone in the NRL. Hopefully that's going to help us get to the semifinals again."
Statistics also back up the contention that Mason chose wrongly.
The Knights have finished ahead of the Cowboys for the past two seasons.
They finished seventh last year and ninth in 2008, compared with North Queensland's 12th and 15th. Newcastle have won three of the past four matches between the two sides.
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