Mason needs to impress Henry to join Cowboys

Rugby league vagrant Willie Mason will have to sell himself to North Queensland coach Neil Henry when they “chat” about the discarded Roosters’ NRL future on Tuesday.

Henry, who will be in Sydney to attend an NRL coaches meeting on Wednesday, will take time to assess the 29-year-old’s reasons for wanting to play for the Cowboys.

He will not have a contract in his bag and it will up to Mason, who has dipped out of contract talks with Melbourne and Manly recently, to satisfy Henry he’d fit into the Cowboys’ structure and not be a liability following a string of misdemeanours with previous clubs.

“In the end I just want to move forward and I know that I’ll be giving my next club my utmost,” Mason told a Townsville newspaper at the weekend.

Henry wants to be totally convinced.

Newcastle, where Mason’s brother Rodney plays and his family live, are reportedly poised to make a late play for Willie this week.

When contacted by AAP on Monday, Cowboys chief executive Peter Parr again refused to discus any interest his club might have in the controversial Origin and Test forward.

“What I will say on the record is we’ll let everyone know whether we decide to pursue it (Mason) or not and that should be in a few days time.”

The Cowboys are filthy their efforts to carry out due diligence after being approached to consider signing Mason was leaked to the media last week.

Henry will sit down with Mason tomorrow mainly to gauge his commitment and to talk about his life, not to be part of any bidding war for his services.

It’s understood if Mason wants to play for the Cowboys, it will have to be under their terms and for whatever they can afford to pay him.

If talks turn to money, the Cowboys will walk away.

Sydney-based player manager Sam Ayoub, who has been assisting Mason’s manager Greg Keenan find his client a new club, returned from Townsville on Sunday after attending a wedding in north Queensland.

“Parrie (Peter Parr) did give me a call and tell me Neil was going to arrange a meeting with Willie while he was down here, that’s all I know,” Ayoub said

“I haven’t spoken to Willie yet but I will call him for a chat sometime today (Monday).”

Ayoub wasn’t worried Mason could be stranded without a club: “You can rest assured Willie will be playing in the NRL, that’s for sure and certain.”