"No one wants that tag and he [Mason] is a very good player. I don't think he is overrated at all," he said at the announcement of a Bulldogs initiative to boost the crowd for Saturday night's game against the Warriors at ANZ Stadium, when fans with New Zealand, Samoan, Tongan or Fijian passports will be allowed free entry.

" 'Mase' is the kind of bloke who will laugh it off, but in the back of his mind he will want to come out and show them what he's got. He'll want to show what he's made of in the next couple of weeks."

Early in the season, Williams said he had lost respect for Mason after the NSW and Australian forward walked out on the Dogs to join the Sydney Roosters during the off-season. That, Williams said, was because Mason had previously encouraged him to stay loyal to the Bulldogs and refuse big-money offers to leave. But the question of whether to nominate Mason or any player as the most overrated was clearly a separate issue and a no-brainer, as far as Williams was concerned.

"I didn't answer that question," Williams said of the poll, published in this week's Rugby League Week .

"I'm not here to bag anyone else. I'm here to play footy. You've got to be happy with yourself and what you do, and if you're happy with yourself you'll go a long way. I'm happy with the way I conduct myself."

The most overrated question has often been met with criticism from players and other people within the game who believe it should not be asked. But there are still plenty of players who are prepared to answer it - at least on the condition they remain anonymous. Of the 100 players polled by the magazine, only 16 replied with "no comment". Mason polled 20 votes, followed by Benji Marshall (Wests Tigers) with 13, Ryan Hoffman (Melbourne) with eight and Paul Gallen (Cronulla) with six. The other 37 votes were split among players with less than six votes.

"People don't really know what a footballer's life is like," Williams said. "They think we live the high life, but they don't know the hard yards we do, and all of the other stuff. That [most overrated] question is probably a bit of rubbish."

Williams also had some words of support for St George Illawarra international Mark Gasnier, who has chosen to sign a lucrative contract with French rugby union club Stade Francais and quit his league career at the end of the season. "The players have got to look after themselves and their families, first and foremost," he said.

Williams was joined by Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg to announce the free entry initiative for fans with Polynesian heritage. Greenberg said it was something that came out of the club's recent discussions with Williams and his management over concerns Williams had regarding his standing at the club.

"It's a great initiative by Todd and the club," Williams said. "You can see we've got quite a few boys with Polynesian backgrounds at our club, so it's always good when something like this can come up."

The move by the Bulldogs rates as the biggest free kick for fans of Polynesian background since millionaire businessman Eric Watson, when he was attracting publicity as the owner of the Warriors, gave 10,000 free tickets to Warriors fans at a personal cost of $300,000 for a finals game in 2002. The Warriors beat Penrith in that game, also at ANZ Stadium. Maybe that will turn out to be an omen for the Bulldogs.