In what was a welcome sight for fans of the Canterbury Bulldogs, it appears NRL great Willie Mason has returned to his old club to help out in an assistant coaching capacity.
On Monday, the Bulldogs shared several photos of the former hulking forward at a pre-season training session, kitted out in club gear.
The 41-year-old was quietly overseeing training and was standing alongside head coach Trent Barrett in one of the images shared to the Bulldogs’ official social media channels.
He was also spotted having a chat to new Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould, who will be hoping the club legend can help turn around the team’s fortunes.
Mason shared some photos of him at Bulldogs training to his Instagram account accompanied with the messages “Good to back” and “Been a minute”.
The imposing prop and second-rower played 148 matches for the Bulldogs across eight seasons and was a key part of the NRL premiership-winning side in 2004, claiming the Clive Churchill medal in the grand final.
Mason played 310 games in his rugby league career in the NRL and the Super League. He also represented New South Wales in 13 State of Origin games and played 24 matches for Australia.
It’s unclear what Mason’s new role at the Bulldogs exactly involves, but fans will be hoping he can rub some of his magic off on the struggling team.
In Barrett’s first year as coach, Canterbury won just three games and finished on the bottom of the NRL ladder to pick up the wooden spoon.
Mason’s return to Canterbury-Bankstown continues a trend of NRL legends returning to their old clubs this off-season in a bid to impart some of their wisdom on the current playing groups.
In the last month, it’s been confirmed Benji Marshall will return to the Wests Tigers as a club ambassador, Andrew Johns will join the Newcastle Knights’ coaching staff and Johnathan Thurston has come on board at the North Queensland Cowboys to help mentor their halves.
NRL pundits believe clubs hiring their superstars from yesteryear to use their expertise can only be a good thing.
“The great Johnathan Thurston has gone back with the Cowboys, so good,” broadcaster Gus Worland told Triple M’s Dead Set Legends on the weekend.
“This week we saw him with the hat on just barking instructions. Can’t be anything but good.
“You’ve got Benji at the Tigers now, you’ve got old players now going back to their old clubs, that’s good for rugby league.
“Same with Joey (Johns) up at Newcastle.”
Brisbane Broncos legend Wendell Sailor agreed, adding: “We talk about the game evolving and that and it’s good that is evolves but these guys are the players that help the game evolve.
“What the Cowboys need at the moment is someone like Johnathan Thurston, (he has) the DNA of the Cowboys and he’s about winning.
“He’s not going to create something they haven’t got, he’s just going to give them his point of view, he’ll work with those players. Imagine those young players having Johnathan Thurston.”
Source: foxsports.com.au