Israel Folau signs with GWS?

[dazzledavey36 54,947]

Watch this space Demonlanders!

[armstrong35 262]

Israel Folau* is very good looking

[scully31 0]

how do you know this?

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,294]

how do you know this?

Mike Sheehan said it`s a done deal on ``On the Couch`` tonight!

[Whispering_Jack 30,181]

how do you know this?

Mike Sheahan announced on On The Couch that it was a strong possibility that he was going to join Kevin Sheedy at GWS.

[armstrong35 262]

would be good at melbourne

i have yet to here about it so i won't believe it until i here more about it haha

[Whispering_Jack 30,181]

I feel like a parrot.

Fox Sports News has a news alert bar saying that Folau will sign with GWS as early as tomorrow!

[Courtney_Fish 183]

I feel like a parrot.

Yeh. They're delicious.

[rpfc 28,462]

I feel like a parrot.

I feel like a Black Bear.

Grrr.

[Sir Why You Little 37,046]

Rugby League will be lucky to make another 10 years in this country in its present form.

They don't have any Cash, & the Salary Cap is too small. A Vicious cycle.

[deeflog 679]

Rugby League will be lucky to make another 10 years in this country in its present form.

They don't have any Cash, & the Salary Cap is too small. A Vicious cycle.

spot on.

The AFL and Rugby Union will be big beneficiaries from the NRL demise, it has already started

[WonnaJurah 5]

3 million dollars for 3 years, who wouldnt take that offer. Wonder if it include a season of Union in France

[dee-luded 2,959]

how do you know this?

His picture's been in the paper. sorry, havin a bita fun.

[H_T 3,047]

3 million dollars for 3 years, who wouldnt take that offer. Wonder if it include a season of Union in France

Sheesh, K.Hunt would feel short changed.

[dee-luded 2,959]

would be good at melbourne

i have yet to here about it so i won't believe it until i here more about it haha

I would rather give 4 M$$$s to Pavlich, he would give us much needed experience & strength.

[Jaded No More 68,923]

I agree 100% with Voss' views that the AFL should be investing millions of dollars in junior competitions, not paying rugby players ridiculously inflated wages for the sake of PR spins.

To think that someone who might not even be any good at this game will be getting paid more than Jonathan Brown, Chris Judd, Matthew Pavlich and so forth, is just stupid.

Good luck to GWS... hope they haven't flushed 3mil down the drain.

[Swampfox 190]

would be good at melbourne

i have yet to here about it so i won't believe it until i here more about it haha

Risking money on an assumption ?

No Thanks

[Guest The Boss]

Good on him. A lot of NRL players have the physical attributes to be good AFL players. I believe K.Hunt is due to debut in the VFL in the next week or two, so it will be interesting to see how good his skills and ability to read the play are.

[Guest milpod]

Good on him. A lot of NRL players have the physical attributes to be good AFL players. I believe K.Hunt is due to debut in the VFL in the next week or two, so it will be interesting to see how good his skills and ability to read the play are.

Have you seen him kick a footy.His understanding of game 360 degrees.IT NEEDS MAJOR WORK.

Why do a couple of players who play a lesser code,deserve to get Judd and Ablett prices,facking joke.We have kids in the system with far more skill,who can actually play our game.

I don't disagree with the concept,just throwing money at it.

Edited May 31, 2010 by milpod

[gOLLy 401]

This is absolutly massive. I think he will be able to take quite a few contested grabs in a game. How he kicks them is another thing. Either way this is massive.

[Guest Thomo]

I agree 100% with Voss' views that the AFL should be investing millions of dollars in junior competitions, not paying rugby players ridiculously inflated wages for the sake of PR spins.

To think that someone who might not even be any good at this game will be getting paid more than Jonathan Brown, Chris Judd, Matthew Pavlich and so forth, is just stupid.

Good luck to GWS... hope they haven't flushed 3mil down the drain.

I don't think that those of you in Melbourne understand how big this is. Imagine if Lance Franklin announced that he is joining the New Victorian Rugby Union team.

This has been on the back page of the Sydney paper two days in a row, and will most likely be on the back page for the next week. It will help generate sponsorship, encourage NSW juniors who are unsure which game to get serious about to choose AFL, and ensure that there is media attention next year when they are playing in the VFL. They will get 15,000 people out there in the first practice match just to see if he fails. The AFL could employ 100 marketing and PR types, and never achieve this.

Player should get paid what they are worth, and what is Folau worth to the AFL? Don't think of it as a player getting $1m per season, think of it at a Player getting $100,000 per season, and the AFL paying $900,000 for marketing. Ablett/Judd/Brown etc can not get this sort of attention in the developming markets.

Even if he never plays a game, $3m well spent.

[JACKATTACK 17]

I don't think that those of you in Melbourne understand how big this is. Imagine if Lance Franklin announced that he is joining the New Victorian Rugby Union team.

This has been on the back page of the Sydney paper two days in a row, and will most likely be on the back page for the next week. It will help generate sponsorship, encourage NSW juniors who are unsure which game to get serious about to choose AFL, and ensure that there is media attention next year when they are playing in the VFL. They will get 15,000 people out there in the first practice match just to see if he fails. The AFL could employ 100 marketing and PR types, and never achieve this.

Player should get paid what they are worth, and what is Folau worth to the AFL? Don't think of it as a player getting $1m per season, think of it at a Player getting $100,000 per season, and the AFL paying $900,000 for marketing. Ablett/Judd/Brown etc can not get this sort of attention in the developming markets.

Even if he never plays a game, $3m well spent.

The whole folau/Hunt thing will do exactly what the AFL wants, it will put these clubs in the paper. Which is no doubt what they need the most. But overall the whole thing just doesn't feel right. Call me a traditionalist but I just don't like that our game has moved in to these markets by buying up their favourite sons. If I were a potential fan I would much rather them build a team the right way, draft well and win fans by winning games. Plus I don't think either will be more than a gimmick and bit players.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Even if Folau joins Hunt in the AFL I wouldn't be surprised if both players don't go back to rugby at some stage in their careers.

[MadAsHell 4,212]

Bottom line is Folau has never played this game before and wont just be able to pick it up willy nilly!

At best Folau and Hunt will become bit players who will struggle to get a game come their 3rd season once their plethera of top draft picks start to develop.

It will be very intersting to see what happens come their 2nd or 3rd season when McKenna or Sheedy don't want to play them cause they know they have better kids on their list who have grown up playing the game but the FD and the AFL will no doubt be pressuring them to play Hunt and Folau so the public can watch the investment in all it's mediocrity!

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

The whole folau/Hunt thing will do exactly what the AFL wants, it will put these clubs in the paper. Which is no doubt what they need the most. But overall the whole thing just doesn't feel right. Call me a traditionalist but I just don't like that our game has moved in to these markets by buying up their favourite sons. If I were a potential fan I would much rather them build a team the right way, draft well and win fans by winning games. Plus I don't think either will be more than a gimmick and bit players.

I disagree.

Well. I agree, if I was a fan of one of these clubs I'd want us to do what the demons and Freo are doing now. Work from the bottom up.

But for my part I reckon these two clubs will more likely do what Freo did over their journey so far. I don't reckon a strong club culture, and fearsome reputation are bought with money. At least, I don't reckon money is ALL it takes. These two clubs don't just walk into a flag. They have to earn it over a period of time. And in the interim, I don't see what the harm is to the AFL in this stunt... except perhaps to the AFLPA who must be ropable with how much money is going north. Oh, and of course the NRL who with this news, lose one of its biggest stars.

The Folou and Hunt thing is a PR stunt that will play it's part in getting these clubs in the news and in the minds of footy fans. At the same time they're completely raping two drafts, and getting plenty of legitimate good players in an age where drafting has become a more exact science.

They'll go back to play league once they're found out, and realise that at best they'll be just ok players. Better to be a big fish in a small pond, than a medium sized fish in a big pond. And by that stage AFL will have become all the more colourful for it.

And in the meantime... Melbourne will be showing these johnny-come-latelies how it's done.