1. Willie Mason played rugby union in the Top 14 for French club RC Toulonnais.
53 Facts About Willie Mason
1. 2.
Willie Mason was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to an Australian father of English descent and a Tongan-Samoan mother, Willie Mason moved to Australia at a young age and grew up in Toronto, New South Wales, playing his junior football for the Toronto Macquarie Scorpions and the Lakes United Seagulls.
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In 1997, Willie Mason was signed by the Hunter Mariners and played in the lower grades until the club became defunct at the end of the year.
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In 1998, Willie Mason signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and played in the under-18s Jersey Flegg competition.
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In 1999, Willie Mason suffered a leg fracture in the game before the Bulldogs' Jersey Flegg Grand Final win.
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Willie Mason became a regular first-grader for the rest of the season.
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In 2002, Willie Mason was reported to have run from a taxi to avoid paying the fare.
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Willie Mason forged another player's signature at an autograph event, and after a heavy drinking session with teammates, reportedly visited a brothel.
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Willie Mason was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match.
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Willie Mason was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season 2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament.
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Also at the end of 2004, Willie Mason played in Australia's win over the United States in an international rugby league friendly match at Philadelphia's Franklin Field but suffered a fractured ankle.
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Willie Mason was out of action during the first half of the 2005 NRL season and only played the last nine games of the season.
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In June 2006, news speculation surfaced that Willie Mason was considering joining the United States' National Football League, a childhood dream.
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Willie Mason was said to be courted by several teams, including the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers.
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However, the Canterbury club objected to the deal, and Willie Mason remained with the club beyond 2006.
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Willie Mason was a firm figure in the clubs return to finals football as the Bulldogs finished second on the ladder, Canterbury-Bankstown were beaten by eventual Premiers the Brisbane Broncos one game shy of the Grand Final.
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Willie Mason was televised appearing to swear during the New Zealand haka, before game 1 of the 2006 Gillette Tri-nations Series.
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Later in the match Willie Mason suffered a swollen black eye and suspected broken eye socket from a shoulder charge by David Kidwell.
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Willie Mason explained that his swearing was in response to the traditional Maori dance being performed by Brent Webb, an Indigenous Australian of Torres Strait Islander origin who became a New Zealand citizen.
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Willie Mason was banned for one game and fined $5,000 following an altercation with Stuart Fielden during Great Britain's victory over Australia in November 2006.
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In December 2006 Willie Mason took part in a trial with the New York Jets, but still maintained he would fulfil his contract with the Canterbury club until the end of the 2009 season.
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Willie Mason seems to have been a pretty dynamic guy in that league for a long time.
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Willie Mason seemed relatively feisty when I spoke to him.
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Willie Mason was selected to play for the Australian national team at second-row forward the 2007 ANZAC Test match victory against New Zealand.
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Willie Mason was voted the most hated player by a fans poll in 2007.
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At Sydney Airport in 2007, Willie Mason verbally challenged a female reporter from radio station 2GB, resulting in a complaint from 2GB to the Canterbury-Bankstown club and the ARL Willie Mason later admitted to the outburst, which was captured on audio recordings, and apologised to 2GB journalist Michelle Keighran.
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Willie Mason is sponsored by sportswear manufacturer, Champion, which almost severed its contract with the controversial footballer as a result of the incident.
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In 2007, Willie Mason was selected for all three Origin games for NSW and represented Australia in the ANZAC Test match.
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On 31 October 2007 The Daily Telegraph reported that Willie Mason wanted to leave the Bulldogs after an altercation with the club's CEO, Malcolm Noad.
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Speculation that Willie Mason was to be released from his contract led to a number of English and Australian clubs confirming they were seeking to sign Willie Mason to a contract for the 2008 season.
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On 15 November 2007 it was confirmed that Willie Mason had signed a three-year deal with the Sydney Roosters.
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However, in the final regular game of the season Willie Mason ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and took no part in the Roosters Finals Campaign.
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In May 2009 Willie Mason was fined $2,000 by Sydney Roosters after being photographed urinating in a public place.
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When Brian Smith took over the coaching role at the Roosters he told Willie Mason he was not in his future plans at the Roosters and his services were no long needed there.
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Willie Mason was given extended leave from the Roosters to find a new club.
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The North Queensland Cowboys made a late play for Willie Mason and held talks with him on 2 February 2010 If the Cowboys had rejected Mason the Newcastle Knights were poised to make a deal with him as they had lost prop Danny Wicks.
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On 5 February 2010, Willie Mason agreed to a one-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.
38.
In September 2011, Willie Mason signed a three-year contract with Hull Kingston Rovers, pending a successful working visa application.
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On 18 April 2012, it was confirmed Willie Mason had signed with the Wayne Bennett coached Newcastle Knights for the remainder of the 2012 NRL season.
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Willie Mason made his Newcastle debut at Hunter Stadium in their Round 8 victory over the Penrith Panthers.
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On 15 November 2012, Willie Mason re-signed with the Knights for two years.
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On 10 March 2014, Willie Mason was disqualified from driving for six months and fined $900 for drink driving.
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The offence was in relation to Australia Day of that year where after a marathon drinking session, Willie Mason drove to training, was pulled over by police and blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.09.
44.
On 28 October 2014, after a three-year stint with the Knights, Willie Mason signed a one-year contract with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles starting in 2015.
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In 2018, Willie Mason spoke to the media about his time at Manly in relation to the ongoing saga with the board infighting and coach Trent Barrett claiming the facilities at the club were not up to date.
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On 16 February 2016, Willie Mason returned to the Super League with Catalans Dragons, signing a one-year contract starting effective immediately.
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Willie Mason was seen by Toulon as a possible successor to former Bulldogs teammate and past Toulon centre Sonny Bill Williams.
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Willie Mason was described by Toulon fans as a "Brad Thorn wannabe" in the club's history.
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In 2017, Willie Mason was scheduled to appear as a celebrity contestant on Seven Network's Australian version of Hell's Kitchen.
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In July 2017, Willie Mason branded former professional rugby league footballer Tommy Raudonikis an idiot after Raudonikis said that Jarryd Hayne had failed in the NFL and accused him of not trying while playing for the Gold Coast Titans.
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In June 2018, Willie Mason claimed that when he was at Manly that nobody wanted to play alongside teammate Daly Cherry-Evans and that he was the reason there was such a divide at the club.
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In 2022, Willie Mason was the Captain for Kangaroos alumni vs Kiwi alumni Match Fit squad.
53.
On 11 July 2024, Willie Mason was named for his first acting credit for Stan Australia series Sunny Nights.