AN ENGLAND-based rugby league agent spent the Christmas week in Sydney trying to nut out a deal to lure Roosters renegade Willie Mason to the Brian Noble-coached Celtic Crusaders in the English Super League.

Options...Roosters forward Willie Mason is almost certain to be moving in 2010. Photo: Darren Pateman

However, The Sun-Herald understands at least four NRL clubs, including the Sharks, Manly and Melbourne, are also chasing the former international, who was granted an extended break by Roosters coach Brian Smith to organise a playing future elsewhere.

Mason is said to be in such demand from rival NRL clubs that he’s deciding which of the teams vying for his services will provide him with the best chance to add another grand final victory to the title he won in 2004 with the Bulldogs.

He had been linked with the Melbourne Storm, but while former Eels and Roosters halfback Brett Finch has advised his friend to jump at any opportunity to relocate to Victoria because the Storm makes a player ”a better person”, the premiers denied a recent report that they had met Mason.

Mick Robinson, an English-based Australian agent, refused to discuss the state of negotiations, but it is understood the Crusaders want Mason as their marquee signing. Mason had hoped to follow Craig Wing by landing a lucrative contract with Japanese rugby, but that is appearing more and more unlikely.

Mason’s days as a first-grader with the Roosters appear numbered, having been given ”leave” by Smith to negotiate a deal elsewhere. If Mason does not find a new home – and soon – he could spend next season trotting out for the Roosters’ feeder club, Newtown.

While that might sound like easy money for a player who, on his day, is still one of the code’s most destructive forwards, his stint in the NSW Cup would have a detrimental impact on his worth when his $450,000-a-year contract with the Roosters expires.

Despite Mason’s reputation for being disruptive, Robinson was adamant he would have a positive impact on the Crusaders.

”I know of some of the great things Willie has done that go unreported,” he said. ”A friend of mine had a child who was very ill, and Willie Mason couldn’t do enough for the family. He is a good bloke, and the Crusaders are offering him a challenge.”

Geoff Moss, a Wrexham businessman who owns the club, is determined to make the franchise a success and is exploiting a loophole that allows the venture to sign up to 14 Australian and New Zealand players. Nick Youngquest, Michael Witt, Ryan O’Hara, Lincoln Withers, Jason Chan, Adam Peek and Terry Martin could be Mason’s new teammates should he make the move to Wales.

There was a suggestion that Parramatta’s Kiwi international Krisnan Inu could also be among the group, but Eels CEO Paul Osborne said there was no chance of Inu being released. The centre is certain to feature in coach Daniel Anderson’s premiership plans in 2010.

Osborne did confirm forward Weller Hauraki was granted a release and it was expected he would join the Anzac influx at the Crusaders.

The Crusaders made headlines during the season when up to six players, including Queensland Origin player Josh Hannay, were deported from the UK for having breached entry conditions in a previous year.

While the club is expected to escape any additional legal charges, it was expected to be fined more than $100,000, which is in line with penalties handed down to employers who hire illegal workers.