Canterbury legend Willie Mason has launched a foul-mouthed, scathing attack on the Bulldogs players as the fallout surrounding the training methods of coach Cameron Ciraldo continues.
Mason, who played 148 games for the Bulldogs between 2000 and 2007, including being named Clive Churchill medallist in the 2004 NRL premiership-winning team, fired up about the drama at the club and called some players “soft” during his epic spray on the Levels Network podcast.
The Bulldogs great is currently employed by the club as a pathways transition coach, with his expletive-laden rant dividing the opinion of the NRL world.
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“It’s f******* soft as s**t,” a fired-up Mason said when discussing the recent reports regarding Bulldogs players complaining about Ciraldo’s training methods.
“I hate s*** like that because I see what our coaches put together with Ciro (Ciraldo), to Travis Touma, to Zapp, to Chady Randall, to Bobcat (Andrew Ryan), to Ogre (Mark O’Meley), all these sorts of guys, high performance. I know what the schedule is.
“If you can’t deal with it, you’re not going to be f****** there.
“Because there’s high standards at the club, regardless of what’s happening right now with where we’re coming on the ladder or anything like that.
“But there’s no excuses and you’ll get weeded out of the club and that’s what Ciro wants to do.
“These guys have had a losing mentality there for like five years so it’s a cultural thing, the winning and losing.”
Mason questioned the attitude of the Bulldogs players following recent reports a text message has surfaced claiming that up to eight players have raised issues about training workloads and being available to train from 8am to 5.30pm.
“This is a way of fishing them out,” Mason said.
“All this s***’s getting out there, if you can’t f****** handle the way the Bulldogs play and train, this is not your f****** club.
“And they’ll find out. You’ll find out, because if you’re on contract right now and you don’t happen to be on the roster next year or if they don’t want you, you’re that dude that they don’t want at the club.
“So the guys that we want there, they will be there. Players that are coming in, they’ll bring a winning culture as well.
“It’s going to take a minute but it’s the way it is, you’ve got to tough it out. It’s just the way it is and we’re all in this together.”
Mason said it was “heartbreaking” to see how upset some players were after losing a match.
“You think it’s f****** good seeing these young kids go through these losses every single week nearly?” Mason said.
“To prepare them so well and to watch them before games and to see them so f****** shattered after the game – it’s heartbreaking as coaches.
“Imagine being Gus (general manager of football Phil Gould) – I’m only sort of from the outside in.
“Imagine being Ciro. Imagine being these guys who are riding these waves with them, trying to make them better humans, better players, better everything and we’re just not coming up with the results.
“But we’re on that f****** wave.”
Mason concluded his rant with a warning to the players and to the individuals who leaked the stories to the media: “If you don’t want to be there, you’re not going to be there. People talk and if you’re that guy, you won’t be there next year.”
The epic spray from the 43-year-old has divided the opinion of the NRL world with some fans agreeing with the Bulldogs great, while others think he is out of line and it is not a good look coming from someone within the club.
“I love you @mase21 for telling it like it is,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Entitled sooks need to understand what a privilege it is to play first grade, especially for the Bulldogs. We might not be doing great at the moment but we’re a big club and a proud club. It’s an honour to wear the jersey. Show it!”
“As simple as it gets, good on you Wille, and thanks for calling it out,” added another.
Other fans agreed, with comments such as “well said”, “spot on” and “good stuff” being said about the rant.
Others questioned the comments from Mason, especially considering he is employed by the Bulldogs.
“Willie Mason should lose his position at the Bulldogs whatever that was. It is untenable now,” one fan wrote.
Another added: “Comments by Willie Mason indicate the level of professionalism @NRL_Bulldogs No wonder the club is in all sorts. There are two ways of saying things. It appears Willie doesn’t have a level of vocabulary to articulate it.
“That attitude would turn most off the club.”
“I could be wrong but isn’t big Willie classed as a welfare officer for the players at the Dogs?,” another person asked.
“I mean I know he’s just another coach but I believe that’s his actual title so the NRL pay his salary? Not a very ‘welfarey’ thing to say.”
The Bulldogs began the season with high hopes of playing NRL finals, however, they have endured a nightmare year with only seven wins and sit third from bottom on the NRL ladder ahead of their season final against the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.
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