? Mason still fighting to get Tonga passport
? Forward also linked with move to Toulon
Hull KR have named Willie Mason in their squad for Friday's derby against Hull FC and said they remain confident he will get the Tongan passport necessary to justify his continued inclusion in their side, despite reports that his career may take another twist with a move to the French rugby union club Toulon.
Rovers deregistered their injured Australian playmaker Michael Dobson to clear space for Mason in their overseas quota when he arrived in the country last month and Dobson's return to training this week had led to suggestions that he may make a comeback in the derby at the KC Stadium.
Those rumours were given further impetus by reports in Australia that Mason and his agent have held talks with Toulon, who employed his former Canterbury Bulldogs team-mate Sonny Bill Williams before he returned to New Zealand last year.
But they were killed off ? for the moment, at least ? when Hull KR submitted their 19-man squad to the Rugby Football League 48 hours before the match including Mason and without re-registering Dobson. Rovers then issued a statement claiming that "progress has been made over recent days with support from the prime minister of Tonga" in the passport saga that has now been dragging on for more than four months and that "a resolution is expected shortly".
The statement added that "the club are unaware of any approach for him from French rugby union and he remains under contract and available for selection". However, none of that would rule out Mason moving to France, especially as the Tongan passport would make him more attractive to Toulon by giving him exemption from their overseas quota, a particular advantage during the rugby union World Cup in September.
Given his size of contract and the lack of impact he has made so far in six appearances for the club, Hull KR may not be averse to allowing the Australia international forward to leave early ? and would certainly want to select Dobson ahead of him when he returns.
The game will see Martin Gleeson make his debut for Hull FC while Sean Long returns from suspension for the black and whites and Willie Manu is available after missing last week's defeat by the Catalan Dragons in Perpignan because of passport problems of his own. Mason will also line-up against his former Sydney Roosters team-mates Mark O'Meley and Craig Fitzgibbon in a showdown that has been anticipated for months, well beyond the city of Hull.
Elsewhere Castleford's preparations for their derby against Wakefield Trinity on Friday night took an even more surreal twist with Ryan McGoldrick, their long-serving Australian import, apologising to the club and his team-mates for a piece in last Sunday's News of the World in which he revealed his plans to run a pole-dancing club in his back garden. "The whole story was meant to be a little bit of fun and as a light-hearted article," said McGoldrick, who was pictured with a stripper and could yet face disciplinary action from the club.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/apr/20/willie-mason-hull-kr-hull-fc-super-league
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