I really don't get the AFLs angle on this.
Do they think this will get more league fans to watch AFL? If I'm going to watch AFL, I want to watch good AFL players play AFL, not good league players play AFL.
Do they think its going to weaken league? Union tried this and failed. While Falou is a good player, good wingers/centres, with the exception of Inglis, are a dime a dozen when it comes to replacing them. He won't be anymore missed then Gasnier, Sailor or Tuquiri were. They should have targetted a Thurston or a Hayne.
Do they think it will get more Polynesian kids to play AFL? Can't see it happening, the rugby codes are too intrenched in islander tradition.
Do they think he has some mystical link in Western Sydney which will bring in the masses? The guy left Minto for Brisbane when he was like 10. He plays for Brisbane and QLD FFS.
All it does is give them some cheap publicity, a little curiosity, make them look like a bunch of dicks and piss off their other high profile players.
After one or two games of AFL, when every one realises he is ordinary, Izzy will slide off into the obscurity of the VFL until he re-emerges three years later looking for and NRL/Super 15 contract.
They should be targetting fans like me who watch league/union and the occasional game of AFL. Instead of sparking my interest, all this has done is ensure that I won't be giving them my support.
You are right on the money when you mentioned "cheap publicity".
Falau, and Hunt for that matter, are both being employed by the AFL primarily for their "public profile" and the publicity and free media their code swapping brings.
Hunt has already generated 10's of millions of dollars worth of frontpage, Prime time exposure for the AFL and this even before has has played a single game.
Folau is the same.
You can't say the RL community are not talking about it.
This will be a huge story in the biggest market in Australia, Sydney, and in Brisbane.
As to whether it will get people to follow AFL?
You can't tell me that the RL faithful will not keep an eye on these two blokes and , if they start to play well, generate a certain amount of spin about how RL players can do well in AFL.
You are already doing it in this thread and have been for months in the K.Hunt related threads.
The best possible outcome for AFL is if they can actually play well enough to get a regular gig because the RL supporters claiming RL converts are somehow better than AFL players will simply entrench the idea of switching codes into the RL players minds.
The fact is the NRL and News have dropped the ball badly and the only way they will reverse the trend is to pay players what they are worth.
This will be very difficult as it is totally against the culture of the administration since Super League tore the game apart and stole it from the people and players.
