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Rugby League

Hull FC in talks with Mason

05/11/2007

Super League club Hull FC have revealed they are in talks with Canterbury Bulldogs' controversial Australian international Willie Mason.

The 27-year-old has been granted permission to negotiate a new contract away from his current club after a turbulent season away from the pitch.

He was threatened with a £22,000 fine for various indiscretions, including his refusal to attend club functions and wearing apparel not linked to one of the club's main sponsors.

Mason is also a controversial character on these shores having punched Great Britain's Stuart Fielden and taken out Sean Long off the ball during last season's Tri-Nations series, which resulted in a one-match ban.

But Hull chief executive James Rule said these factors had not dissuaded the club from making a bid for his services, even if he himself admitted it would be "a long shot" to coax him away from the NRL.

"Willie is a world-class player and I can reveal we have spoken to his agent," Rule said.

"We are a very ambitious club and are doing everything we can to sell Hull FC and the city of Hull to Willie."

Mason was recently involved in a war of words with the club and has also been involved in a great deal of controversies surrounding his social life, which is plagued with allegations of drug-taking and excessive drinking.

He is a controversial individual but many pundits believe his physical and confrontational onfield approach means he can be a positive and influential figure and is worth the perceived risk.