Fly-half adds smarts to Nelson Bay charge

Mason made his debut for the Bay off the bench in the Gropers' 31-12 win over Lake Macquarie at Walters park on Saturday.

A knee injury followed by a trip to New Zealand to attend the funeral of one his grandparents, delayed his input until now.

Mason provided a calm head and although not physically ready to start in first grade yet, he will have a major role to play in the Bay's push for a premiership.

"He started training with us to play sevens at the start of the year," Wiringi said. "He hurt his knee in the game between Newcastle Pasifika and the Wildfires.

"He hasn't been training with us too much but I literally gave him a 90-second run down of our game plan and he understood it. We have trained twice a week for months trying to get everyone to understand it. He is just a smart footy player."

READ MORE: HAMILTON SOUND WARNING WITH CLINICAL WIN

READ MORE: HAWKS RESET FOR CLASH WITH TWO BLUES

Mason came on at fly-half against the Roos, but can play 12 or 15 at a pinch.

"We have a lot of young guys in our seconds. Initially he will help them," Wiringi said. "I can bring him on in first grade to be a calm head to close out games. Obviously, he can start in the top grade too. It depends who we play and how his body holds up."

Onewai Tai has started at 10 in the past two games, with Charles Fielder switching from inside centre back to his familiar role at halfback.

"We have a little bit more calmness with Charles at nine," Wiringi said. "Before we had discussions about moving him to 12, I made that clear. His skill set is for a nine. Like most club players he put his hand up to play where ever."

Mason, Tai and Keeanu Kaa have moved to the Bay from Singleton and provided depth and competition for a Gropers outfit that has lost just one game, thrashed 64-7 by Merewether after Michael Hotene was sent off early.

"Everyone in the top side is on notice that there is someone right behind them wanting a crack," Wiringi said. "Our young boys have been awesome and are pushing really hard."

Nelson Bay host Maitland on Saturday, then are away to Wanderers before welcoming Hamilton to complete the first round.

"We have the big three in a row," Wiringi said. "It is a real test. On the ladder we are pretty much in the same spot. The next few weeks will be season defining really.

"Against Maitland it is about sticking to our structure and being patient with the ball. As long as we have the ball, we are in control.

"Against Lake Mac our structure was really off. We got stuck playing the same way as them."

MORE IN SPORT:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: