Controversial NRL ‘bad boy’ Willie Mason has been hired by Channel Seven to present a rugby league segment during their 6pm Friday news slot.
The former Canterbury Bulldogs star, 44, is working on a pilot segment for the network called Every Team, Every Night, set to be broadcast later this year.
Mason is a legendary rugby league player known just as much for his off-field antics as he is for his incredible sporting achievements, including playing in the 2004 Grand Final.
The New Zealand-born athlete will be joining a revamped news team alongside several other newcomers, including Sydney comedian Mark Humphries.
The move may ruffle some feathers, as Mason made headlines throughout his celebrated career for his rowdy off-field antics.
These included being caught urinating in public and running away from a taxi to avoid paying the fare.
Mason began his NRL career in 2000 with the Bulldogs and played for an additional six teams, before retiring from the game in 2016.
Controversial NRL ‘bad boy’ Willie Mason (pictured) has been hired by Channel Seven to present a rugby league segment during their 6pm news slot
The former Canterbury Bulldogs star, 44, is working on a pilot segment for the network called Every Team, Every Night, set to be broadcast later this year
It follows reports that there has been a cost-cutting bloodbath at Seven as the network’s news division comes under new management.
Several major names to go at the network recently include veterans Robert Ovadia, Andrew Frampton and seasoned Melbourne crime reporter Cameron Baud, who is known among friends as the ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ due to his grim news beat.
Veteran presenter Sharyn Ghidella was also axed from the network, after almost four decades working in the news industry.
In a scathing Facebook post, Ghidella said she was not a fan of the network’s rebranding of its news programming.
The dramatic changes see comedian Mark Humphries crack gags at the week’s news.
The program also now includes an astrology report.
Mason is a legendary rugby league player known just as much for his off-field antics as he is for his incredible sporting achievements, including playing in the 2004 Grand Final
Viewers were divided over Humphries debut, with many sharing their thoughts on social media.
‘You’ve sacked Sharyn Ghidella and now at the end of the news you have a very unfunny, stupid, moronic idiot on!’ wrote one viewer.
‘I will never watch Seven News again,’ they continued on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk