The wording on the Bulls press release certainly suggests he is coming immediately:
Bradford boss Eamon O’Carroll has revealed he tried to make Mason’s stay permanent last season, but is delighted to have secured his signature this time around to bolster his pack for the next 18 months.
“I remember having a conversation with Nathan when I was in France, he broke his arm and we were keen to keep him here, he came and impressed with what he did on the field but more importantly, how he was off it too,” said O’Carroll, who is sponsored by M & S Combustion Ltd.
“He took the decision to go back to Australia and back himself which is fantastic but when we heard about his availability we got straight in touch it was an easy one for us. I look forward to working with him, I know his capability he’s played at a high level and I am excited to see where we can get with him.
“Hopefully I will have some difficult decisions to make and the opportunity to rotate now, which will help us further down the line towards the back end of the season.
“Competition is really important and we haven’t had that yet, we lost two key individuals in terms of Michael Lawrence and Daniel Smith for long periods, so to bring in quality like Nathan [Mason] certainly helps.”