WILLIE Mason answered his critics, as they say in the classics, with a 30-6 Test win for the Kangaroos over the Kiwis on Friday night. But it doesn't matter how good his football is, or how quiet he is, or how much humble pie he eats - the 195-centimetre Bulldogs forward will still be saddled with all the baggage of rugby league.

The whipping boy is back in play. The lynch mob is back on his tail, baying for his sacking, and again his supposed offences are trivial.