#89 | Willie Mason | Part 1 | Novocastrians, Bulldogs & Super League War
episodePreviously titled “Willie Mason | Part 1 | Novocastrians, Bulldogs & Super League War” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
Transcript
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the podcast today. Today we have Willie Mason, one of the game's greatest characters, and you're about to listen to episode one. After you've finished, head straight over to episode two. Okay, enjoy. A question we always ask people, Willie, when we start here, have you had a night out with Cooper?
Not really. No, not as many as I would have liked. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We could lock horns like. We've had brief. Yeah, we've been in the same vicinity, but not like a proper.
I came and played your golf day.
What experiences shaped Willie Mason's early rugby career?
Yeah. That time this year. Yeah, I'll be straight. But that was a great day.
That was a great day. Stick with me on the cart and you'll be fucking sweet.
Unfortunately, you know, I remember when I played that day and everyone said, how does Willie Mason hit him? I said, well, I don't think anyone saw him hit a golf ball. I don't think you picked up a golf club.
No, I didn't. My job is to draw. I've been playing a little bit of golf lately. It's good fun. Because Taylor Made gave me a pair of clubs.
What is it? Taylor Made the centre for the West Islanders?
Taylor Made, yeah. Taylor Made made them for me. Thanks, Taylor. He gave you clubs? No, Taylor Made. Oh, shit. Jesus Christ. Oh, gee. Yes. So I was at a fucking Queensland, an origin thing, right? And I don't play golf, right? Hence not picking up a golf club last year at Levels Golf Day. And old mate about 18 months ago, two years ago, he goes, do you play golf? I said, no, I don't really like it. He goes, I work for TaylorMade. I'll make you personalised golf clubs because I'm a bit taller. He goes, you probably need them a little bit longer, all that sort of shit. Went up there. personalized fucking golf clubs and everything, made them for me. I didn't pick them up for another 12 months. Then I went up there, so I picked them up just last year, like two and a half years in the making.
So I finally got them, got them down here. Yeah, I have a little bit of a hit. I can hit it straight. That's about it.
I loathe golf. It's fucking frustrating as hell.
It's fucking shocking. What's your game? Are you the driver? I can drive it all right now. And then everything from there is over.
So like that middle bit? The fucking – Yeah, all the shit.
All the hard stuff fucking could go anywhere. Well, they say that's what the difference is in the pros, the short game.
Short game, yeah, all that shit. I'm like, what do I use here in the fucking thick of it? I've got no idea with that. And how hard do I hit it? It could go fucking straight over. I love putt-putt. I just – Give me that.
You can get it in free slushy.
Who doesn't like that? When I say putt-putt, I've just been going down the range and just fucking pumping balls. Yeah. Me and Archie, I'll take a little boy down there. Just fucking get it, son. Go on, boy. Don't have to chase it. Nothing. Just pump him. Get about fucking 100 balls. That's my goal. We didn't get that.
We went and tried to get dad fitted, but they tried to give him kids clubs.
Fuck you.
The plastic ones. The plastic ones you get from Kmart.
The little putt-putt ones. They are the Taylor May ones.
Hey, Willie, firstly, before we go, how's family? How's Claire going?
Everything's good, mate. I can't complain. What about Tartan?
I don't know. I ask this question sort of out of my breath because I ask this sometimes and I haven't seen your mum for a long, long time. Is your mum good? Is she good?
Yeah, she's good, mate. She's always fond of the Johns brothers. Yeah. Like even Andrew, like she'll always ask about you, ask her about, how's Joey? Like we hang out like every single day.
I used to see her all the time.
But she's always, yeah, she's healthy. Got five sisters, as you know, and they all look after her.
How about Rodney? How's Rodney going? Rod's all right, mate. Yeah, he's all right.
He's a good footballer, Rodney.
Yeah. He was just at the Knights at the wrong time. Too many fuckwit coaches there at the time.
Yeah, it was. It was, yeah. Yeah. It was, yeah, they're all going all right, mate. They're all getting older in 30s and 40s. And Les is like, what, 40s?
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:28
2
What experiences shaped Willie Mason's early rugby career?
0:28–7:44
3
How did Willie Mason transition from rugby league to rugby union?
7:44–8:25
4
What insights does Willie Mason share about his time at the Bulldogs?
8:25–16:15
5
What was it like for Willie Mason to play alongside legends like Andrew Johns?
16:15–25:04
6
How did the Super League War impact Willie Mason's career?
25:04–31:36
7
How does Willie Mason describe the intensity of training and competition?
31:36–45:29