Dragons abandon pursuit of Folau after extraordinary general meeting
Michael Chammas and
Adrian Proszenko
February 3, 2021 — 7.29pm
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St George Illawarra have abandoned their pursuit of Israel Folau following an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday night.
Club powerbrokers gathered late Wednesday to discuss the fallout from the
Folau revelations published in the Herald on Tuesday, opting not to proceed with preliminary discussions to sign the 31-year-old this season on a two-year, $1 million deal.
The St George Illawarra Dragons have pulled out of the pursuit for Israel Folau.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES
Sources with knowledge of discussions said some at the Dragons began having second thoughts following backlash from the
Herald’s revelations on Tuesday that the club had lodged an inquiry with the NRL about procuring the controversial code-hopper.
It was only a month ago the Dragons board unanimously supported the idea of enquiring with the NRL. The Dragons and NRL headquarters have been bombarded with fan feedback over the past two days, leaving some club officials questioning whether they should persevere with plans to try and get Folau out of his deal with Catalans Dragons.
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The Dragons had been awaiting direction from head office in regards to the steps they need to take if they decide to submit a contract for registration. It became clear to the club that process would be too arduous and not worth the potential damage to the Dragons brand if they continued to fight for Folau.
The Dragons board meeting came on the eve of Thursday’s ARL Commission meeting, at which Folau’s future was meant to be a topic on the agenda.
Israel Folau returned home from Catalans to be closer to his sick mother-in-law. CREDIT:AP
It is unlikely Folau will have much support on the ARL Commission if he chooses to pursue an alternative option at another NRL club, however the game’s leaders are adamant the 31-year-old’s application will be considered if a club provides the necessary paperwork.
What that paperwork needed to include was meant to be decided at Thursday’s commission meeting, with Folau likely to have had to meet with chairman Peter V’landys and chief executive Andrew Abdo as part of the process.
Folau had been in contact with Catalans during the past 24 hours to allay the Super League club’s concerns that they have been lied to by their star centre, who has asked for a release from his final year at the club on compassionate grounds to remain in Australia to be with his sick mother-in-law.
Catalans could have demanded a transfer fee, believed to be worth about $200,000, before granting him a release. The Dragons left aside close to $400,000 in this year’s salary cap as part of a two-year, $1 million proposal for the former Melbourne and Brisbane centre.
Earlier on Wednesday, Blues coach Brad Fittler joked about having Folau return to the NRL and represent NSW, where he was born, instead of playing for Queensland in this year’s State of Origin series.
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“I like watching Israel Folau play footy,” Fittler said. “I don’t necessarily listen to anything he says because I don’t have social media and I am not over any of that.
“It is going to be up to the game to decide if he can play and I hope he can because I like watching him play. The couple of times I saw him play he looked as good as ever. I think he will make an impact straight away.”
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