If that plays out and he wants to go to France getting him off the cap will suffice i would have thought.

I am no fan of Hudge, however if he follows this through and sacks Cockayne (if proven guilty), he would certainly be admired by a lot of people for taking such a stance.

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i do hope your not trying to imply that i am a FC fan..... far from it.....
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time will tell, i will stand by what i have said.
player recruitment will be a whole lot harder now after this fiasco...

Neither were Canterbury Bulldogs when Sonny Bill was already at Toulon yet they ended up getting £300,000

The more pertinent point is that Toulon's annual playing budget is £18M so it's more than likely that should Mason go to them, they will want his transition to be as smooth as possible and that would mean them getting Rovers out of the picture with some cash.

Not that I'm that interested in "making a pwofit" because I want to see him on the field but a big transfer fee would be the next best thing.

Odd that Wayne Gardiner, RL reporter at the Press Association tweeted this tonight:
"Hull KR working out a deal with Toulon for Mason. No transfer fee. Cut and shut. "

To be honest I can't see how we can be in a position to ask for money for him it's rovers fault willi is in this position, however if he has gone to France on his day off talk to Toulon behind rovers back then what does that say about him, I say if he wants to go let him go so we can move on and put this fiasco behind us, and hope it makes KR think wiser next time, it's just spiralled it's time to put a stop to it now.

Yes it is odd. Because his statement is a contradiction in terms.

Thought Hudge`s piece on Humberside radio was interesting,he seems in the dark over the whole situation as the rest of us.

Wayne was in the same Press Conference as me today.
Quite why he has tweeted that is a surprise based on what was said today.

OK then, perhaps you have better sources than he does, as a Press Association reporter and former Rovers employee.

I don't really get the relevance of the SBW situtation. SBW just walked out on the Bulldogs, who wanted to keep him as he was a contracted player. In your situation, you have a player who, if he doesn't get his passport, you can't play but are obliged to continue to pay. Unless you would want to continue to do so at least for the rest of the season, I'd imagine you'd be keen to get rid. This is more akin to the Cooke to Wakefield situation than the SBW one IMO. I understand that you'd want to keep him at all costs though, as you were very clear when the signing was announced that it would guarantee you top 4 status this season.

Maybe he has sources/contacts other than the press conference, perhaps in France? Maybe Rovers will get the massive fee from Toulon that Zod is suggesting. But I just don't see that Rovers hold all the cards here in the scenario the passport doesn't arrive. Could be wrong.

Your saying a RL reporter in the North of England has sources in the South of France RU circle


If the passport doesnt come then Rovers are up the creek, Hudge admitted that.

David Burns does.




I think it depends on timing also. He said he'd be disappointed if Willie's been to France to schmooze with a French Club RU President on a day off. On the other hand, he can't really blame Mason for exploring the possibilities as essentially Rovers are restraining him from plying his trade currently, and at 31 and in good shape he probably wants to play as much as he can over the next few years.

I suspect this situation will be a no win no (transfer) fee for Hudgell.

I actually said this yesterday. Mason will obviously have contacts in Oz, and this fiasco can only damage Rovers recruitment attempts in the short/medium term IMO

I think your opinion is flawed there, but you are entitled to it. When it comes to recruitment, I sincerely hope that Rovers become significantly less reliant on the Aussie market, that model is not sustainable, either financially or quota-wise. However, where we do recruit, I think the contacts that the coach has, plus the positive comments from some of our existing players (esp Dobson & Newton who will be here long term) will hold more water than anything Mr Mason may add. He hardly had the best reputation in the NRL before heading over here now did he?

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No, it's a fair point you make. I still do think though that overall, it can only cause some sort of fallout, however small it may be

can i ask anyone why hull kr aint willing to give up joel clinton for what is such a high profile player it saves alot of embarrasment plus if were being honest joel aint really playing that well and hasnt really had many good games if anyone knows why that aint possible plz feel free to inform me

If Willie Mason wants to go to Toulon, then there is no point.

If Mason wants to stay, then we'd be...

1. Pooping on Clinton - there's no way the RFL will let us de- and re-register a quota player again.

2. Risking the embarrassment of the passport turning up very soon afterwards.

It is time to stop digging.

There is also the point that Toulon may well be waiting for the same passport we are.

May I suggest Rovers give him any passport and another 4 weeks wages and send him home. Good riddance to unwanted rubbish for mine.

You do know we legally can't do that dont you?

Surely you realise that journalists have contacts and explore other avenues of investigation and not just rely on one press conference?

I also heard that. I think Toulon also require the Tongan situation to be sorted.