Folau set to switch to AFL: report?
Giant rugby league centre Israel Folau will inform the Brisbane Broncos on Tuesday he is accepting a massive offer to switch to the AFL.
The 21 year-old, who has played eight Tests for Australia and six State of Origin games for Queensland, will sign a three-year deal with expansion AFL club Greater Western Sydney, who enter the competition in 2012.
The deal is worth a reported $3 million.
Folau will be the second big name Bronco to make the leap to AFL after another of the club’s superstars, fullback Karmichael Hunt, signed a big deal with the Gold Coast Football Club which will debut in the code next year.
Hunt said on Monday he thought Folau would be able to make the move from the NRL without any problems.
"He definitely has the skill set to make the transition," Hunt told a packed press conference on the Gold Coast.
Folau, who is 195cm and 102kg, is very similar in build to Brisbane Lions full forward and AFL juggernaut Johnathan Brown.
His high leaping exploits in rugby league have excited fans but there are concerns he may not have the kicking game to make a success in the AFL.
With Brisbane winning their last three NRL games to surge back into the top eight and Queensland winning the opening State of Origin game in Sydney last Wednesday night there was a pool of thought Folau may have been wavering about leaving the code.
Folau said on Monday he would seek some advice from Hunt about his decision after ruling out a $600,000-a-season offer from Melbourne’s new Super 15 franchise, the Melbourne Rebels.
It’s understood he will speak to Broncos coach Ivan Henjak on Tuesday about his move, ending months of intense speculation about his future.
Earlier this month he failed to take up a two year option on his Broncos contract for season 2011-12.
There’s been speculation Folau, whose family live in Brisbane, wants to get some independence and moving to Sydney as the face of a new franchise gives him that opportunity.
Folau is understood to have undergone extensive AFL "testing" with GWS.
Unlike Hunt, who will have just two or three games to prepare himself for his greatest sporting challenge, Folau would have 12 months of playing in the VFL competition to ready him for his debut in 2012.
Folau’s place in Queensland’s Origin side for the second game of the series seems safe despite his switch after Maroons coach Mal Meninga had a change of heart from his initial stance against selecting him if he was leaving rugby league.
But former Queensland State of Origin great Gorden Tallis said he should be barred from selection.
"If he’s going to go you just put Brent Tate in or you put in a young winger or a young centre," Tallis told Fox Sports.
"If he does (sign to play AFL) you don’t let him play in our showpiece, something that he loves."
Tallis said Folau’s high price signing would create jealousy within the team and the franchise would struggle to attract crowds once the novelty wore off, particularly if they started losing matches.
"They are actually ruining their own game – it is going to be a novelty act," he said.
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Are you surprised?
Yet another act of greed.. Turned down $600,000 in union for $1,000,0000 in AFL.. Pretty obvious if you ask me. Him and Khunt will be so happy together rolling in their bags of money… that is… until they realise they don’t know how to play AFL..
What is with AFL and Union trying to build themselves rugby league teams.. Have they finally come to realise that we are better then them?
Good riddance. If all he’s interested in is the money then he can go wherever he likes, I don’t care.
I’d laugh if he can’t kick a ball.
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Another one bites the dust
Another one comes from the dust
Another superstar on his way
no need for the money
he would be replace.
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serious Answer.
It is a big lost to the broncos the nrl no doubt about that. but we have got tons of stars who can replaced him we would have no trouble with that for sure but is getting ridiculous of where players like folau because of a " big money move" the joke would be on him. because lets say in 2 years time all even half way threw the season we would hear about him not playing of what reports say he could be a great player standes in the afl their is no doubt he would probably be a big star for the afl but we all know if it wasn’t for hunt we would of seen folau taying with us. but no worries we have up rising stars to replaced him broncos are full of up coming stars so is the nrl so yes it was a big shocked at first but many people would get over it. just like when sonny bill williams "left the bull dogs" when was the last time people had mentioned him ? folau might be a great player in the nrl but in a couple of years time he would be yesterday news. he won’t last for ever with his moved same with hunt like i said earlier in my sentence in a couple years time. We would see headlines saying folau feels unhappy not getting a regular starting line up we all know he is only going their for the money and to be with hunt i won’t see this lasting more then 2 years at least but we would easily find a replaced ment.
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and Willie Mason is set to join Mark Webber as a F1 driver
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Good riddance. If all he’s interested in is the money then he can go wherever he likes, I don’t care.
I’d laugh if he can’t kick a ball.
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He can piss off for all I care. Im sick of these players chasing the coin when it was Rugby League who made them. Bloody greedy bastards. If this is true and I was Mal Meninga I would drop him from SOO selection. And Ivan Henjack should drop him to park football.
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Sport at this level is no longer a game played for fun it’s a business and that being the case good luck to Folau for making a sound business decision. Is he worth $1M a season, as a player probably not but as a magnet for advertising and sponsorship and a marketing ploy for a new franchise he is already paying off big time with AFL on the front page of all the newspapers in NSW & Queensland and all over TV and radio news broadcasts.
He might not make it in AFL but he will have secured his long term future and he knows that he can always come back to Rugby League as many others have done and be welcomed back with open arms and he will still be only 24 or 25 years old.
Edit: The Sydney Morning Herald are reporting that Folau has signed for $4.2M over 3 years which makes his decision even smarter.
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NSW should be happy next year
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It has to be a money thing. He would have been looking at more money from both ESL and rugby than the broncos could hope to pay. The AFL deal for a mil a season seems well over the top for a player who hasn’t played the game. SBW would have been on a mil a season at Toulon next season but then he would have been an experienced rugby player and worth it in France. These two, who knows but it must get the you AFL players concerned. The AFL picking up two big league players and picking up Irish Gaelic footballers. What hope for their juniors.
Mel, it wasn’t that long ago that league was building their own union teams to name Stewart and O’Connor as two of these.
Two news entries for his payments, one, Yahoo 7, says $3 million for three years, ABC News says $6 million for 4 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/01/2915186.htm?site=sport§ion=all
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/news/article/-/7325986/hunt-phone-swayed-folau
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Im Sad to see him go. I havent watched much of him, but he is a great player no doubt about that. He is staying till the end of the season though, so thats something. but still like somebody said it was Rugby League that made him, All his fans he is just ditching.
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lol WHAT A KHUNT
Yep they can all get cash and roll around on a bed together man style and cocoa butter each other up!!!!
I just wish Thurston took up a deal and he could p-ss off too.
I wonder how all these AFL players and Union players feel knowing these untested players are getting $1mil a year to "have a go at AFL"
What an insult.
@dragonlady – Nick Reiwoldt (St Kilda) apparently goes for an 8km "jog" before a game. ur right – who knows what he will be able to do. fail
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Folau is big, fast and can jump, but who’s ever seen him kick? If the AFL want to get the Western Sydney Franchise up and running they would do well to have some players who can play their game!!
In the AFL Competition, no-one is going to make excuses for teams who haven’t thought their selections through, and who just want "names" to get bums on seats. The players who might have been interested in transferring from their AFL Clubs to the new team must wonder what the hell is going on, when a Leaguie can command this much money, on name alone.
I think I’m over all the defections .. let them go, and don’t let them back!!
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He’s been signed for 4 years for 6 mill.
O.k so he’s switching to Aussie Rules from League…thing is once a person is paid to play sport any sport it takes the "love" out of the game…Israel said he still loves League but he’s looking after himself and his family by doing this…I’m just wondering if you found a job that paid you double would you take it…yes of course you would…and once his contract is finished if he wants to come back to League I hope you’d all welcome him back again…it’s a loss for League no doubt about it but I wish him luck.
There are players playing Aussie Rules that come from a variety of sports not just League or Union…we have a player in our team that comes from a background of Hurling…Jim Stynes for example played Gaelic Football in Ireland and made the move to our code…no one thought it would work but he ended up winning a Brownlow which is the highest individual award…Brogan from Port Adelaide comes from a background of Basketball…just to name a few.
I read somewhere that Aussie Rules players are not leaving to play League or Union because they couldn’t cope with the game…it’s not that it’s the money…why would a player from any sport go to another sport and be paid half the amount…as I said once money comes into sport it’s a job first and foremost.
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This will be a disaster, looks more like an ego trip than a money train. If Folau wanted cash he could have played Rugby in Japan or Europe. One has to remember that Harmichael Kunt has a background that consists of Australian Rules Football. The skills set transfer well from Rules to Union, not so much to League.
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June 3rd, 2010 at 5:48 am
I was excited when he turned down the Rebel’s offer, I got even more excited when it was announced the salary cap was getting raised- I thought we had him! But unfortunately that wasnt the case. Its pretty sad to see one of our biggest names go to the enemy but I guess on the flip-side, its one less money hungry idiot that’s sending our game broke.
If he ever comes back, he’ll never be the same Israel Folau that we know today. In time he could’ve easily gone down as one of the greatest- now he will soon be replaced and forgotten until he shows up on our front door step in 2014.
And yes, AFL fans must feel pretty good about themselves right now. They can no longer brag about their athletes being better when it’s the true AFL players missing out on multi-million dollar contracts in favour of NRL players, geez thats pretty embarrassing for them. I’d dead set hate to be an AFL fan, there’s nothing left for them!
As for the Broncos, they must have loads of cash to play with now. Inglis maybe? Matai, Tate, Rogers, Tuiaki or Lawrence. They could pretty much get any off contract centre or anyone for that matter.
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