Garry Jack tips his son Kieran to switch from AFL to NRL
* Phil Rothfield Sports Editor-at-large
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* September 03, 2010 11:27PM
THE league legend father of Sydney Swans poster boy Kieren Jack is predicting his son will do "a reverse Israel Folau" and switch from AFL to NRL before his football career is over.
Former Tigers and Kangaroo star Garry Jack last night told The Daily Telegraph his son would make an exceptional halfback in rugby league and would consider switching at the age of 26 when his Swans contract expires.
Jack, preparing for tomorrow's AFL finals showdown with Carlton at ANZ Stadium, could reverse the recent trend of NRL stars Folau and Karmichael Hunt jumping ship to a rival code.
"I think its something he'd like to do," Garry Jack said. "Kieren would love the challenge of testing himself against rugby league players.
"He played the game until he was 14 so he knows what to do.
"I think he'd make a great halfback. Imagine him at the Tigers playing inside Benji Marshall.
"On the fifth tackle he'd kick and land it on a sixpence. Personally, I'd love to see him do it one day if that's what he wants ... but it's his call."
Jack, 23, recently signed a three-year contract with the Swans in a deal worth around $1 million and is a real personality player and marketing tool for the game in Sydney.
A midfielder, Jack is renowned for his outstanding defence and has emerged as a genuine gamebreaker in the Swans' charge to the finals.
Wests Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys said his club would love to consider Jack for the NRL when his AFL contract is up.
"Anything is possible," Humphreys said.
"Seeing some of our guys going over to the AFL demonstrates that.
"I certainly wouldn't rule out the prospect and it will be a great yarn if it happens. I've not watched a lot of Kieren, but from what I have seen, he's a great competitor and he's very skilful.
"Pardon the pun, but he's a Tiger in terms of how he plays the game. He's obviously got a strong rugby league background and it would be a real possibility of happening if he's interested when his contract is up."
Having sat back and watched NRL superstars Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau quit the NRL to play AFL, league boss David Gallop welcomed the possibility of a genuine star jumping the other way.
"Wouldn't that be great given his pedigree in our game," Gallop said.
"It's fair to say if you can cut the mustard in the NRL on a weekly basis you can hold your head high among footballers of all codes given the intensity of our competition."
Jack's manager David Riolo last night said the Swans star was concentrating on his immediate future and the club's finals campaign.
"But if that's what he's told his dad, fair enough," Riolo said.
"He has the ability to do anything and after what's happened between the two codes in the past 12 months, anything is possible."
