Excited Nathan Mason can’t wait to face St Helens’ big Super League pack!
The 21-year-old Giants prop forward is poised to make just his second top-flight appearance in three years in Friday’s massive top-four clash at Langtree Park after his surprise inclusion in head coach Paul Anderson’s 19-man squad.
Mason admits he’s about to take a massive step up in class after spending the season on Kingstone Press League I dual-registration at hometown club Oldham.
But after impressing throughout this year and having had a taste of Super League action in a makeshift Giants side at Bradford Bulls a week after the Giants had clinched the 2013 Super League Leaders Shield, the confident front-rower can’t wait for the chance to go head-to-head with the likes of Saints big guns Mose Masoe, Alex Walmsley and Kyle.
“The prospect of facing them excites me more than anything else,” said the 6ft 5in, 110kgs forward,
“Standing up to these guys is just part of the game.
“I’m 21 now, and I know that to be a good Super League player I need to be testing myself out against players of this quality.
“I did get a brief taste of what’s required at this level against Bradford the other year, but I’m so much fitter and stronger than I was back then. I’m well over a stone heavier for starters.
“Since then I’ve been playing against some very big blokes down the middle during my time at Oldham, and finding that no problem at all.
“That’s given me the extra confidence to handle a game like the one tomorrow.
“I know this Saints match is absolutely massive, because we’d move above them in the table and strengthen our top-four position.
“But I find the exciting rather than daunting, and I’m looking forward to showing everyone what I can do.”
