NRL convert Israel Folau appears set to retire from Greater Western Sydney

[WayneBennett]

Hey look at least he gave it a $4 million go.

I think all of us would have at least considered such a deal.

 

[parramaniac2516]

So has it all got too hard for folau or has it dawned on him he was used as a pr exercise. Epic fail by the gws anonymous giants.

Dont want to see him back and certainly dont want him to get a cent from the games new found riches. bugger off folau

I find it funny that you sit there and tell Folau to bugger off and dont want to see him get a cent. But I bet your all for SBW coming back to the NRL who is twice the Show Pony Folau is. Atleast Folau is coming back to the game that he has some love for. SBW is taking the Roosters and the NRL for a ride and does not care about the game.

 

[docbrown]

Hey look at least he gave it a $4 million go.

I think all of us would have at least considered such a deal.

Congrats to him for getting money for doing practically nothing. It's good work if you can get it.

And best of luck to the AFL in trying to convince other high profile professional athletes to convert to fumbleball. A top tier player has just shown how it will waste two years of your limited career span for no result. :lol:

 

[boxhead]

Wow. A Roosters fan complaining about another club signing a code hopper. The irony is staggering :lol:

 

[El Diablo]

Keith Shady looked shattered at the press conference. he didn't see this coming

usually the AFL are pretty professional and can spin anything into a good story by managing the media

Folau has pantsed them today and Demetriou looks like a Galah

 

[Slammin]

And best of luck to the AFL in trying to convince other high profile professional athletes to convert to fumbleball. A top tier player has just shown how it will waste two years of your limited career span for no result. :lol:

Millions of dollars for f**k all work, yeah they'll really struggle convincing more to cross if they wanted.

In the end the AFL won this, got the coverage they wanted with Folau and the AFL fans can have a laugh at a rugby league superstar that couldn't cut it in the AFL.

 

[natheel]

Millions of dollars for f**k all work, yeah they'll really struggle convincing more to cross if they wanted.

In the end the AFL won this, got the coverage they wanted with Folau and the AFL fans can have a laugh at a rugby league superstar that couldn't cut it in the AFL.

But like you said they will now struggle to convince more league guys coming over. Hunt isn't going great either.

 

[parramaniac2516]

The line that seemed to cut Sheedy deep is "In the end, I think the passion wasn't there."

 

[Glen]

People are saying it was worth it for the publicity but was it really?

It may have scored them a few articles but most people I heard discussing it out and about were generally laughing about how much they were paying the worst first-grader in the league. It came across as a desperate publicity grab and attempt to harm the NRL which would have turned many people off. Plus their crowds were garbage.

Folou might have been a big name but it's not like he was particularly missed, I mean he was only a winger after all. He's also a terrible guy to pay to promote the game as he can barely string a sentence together.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Two things:

Don't understand how folau did anything for the teams publicity, I didn't watch a single game and I don't know anybody who did. In fact I never once heard a mate mention a thing about him all year.

As an nrl player I think he is the most over rated player of all time. He is decent, but has he ever run more then 3 meters to score a try? Apart from taking a high ball he is average in attack and at center is quiet poor in defence. I wouldn't be going all out to sign him. If he goes to a team like parra and doesn't have good players around him he will be a worse signing then Willie tonga

 

[boxhead]

"has he ever run more 3 meters to score a try" Yes.

 

[Brutus]

The entire Falonk exercise was a failure.

Go back and look at the ratings for GWS matches and the crowds.

What a waste of money and the AFL looked like desperate mongs thoughout the entire sad episode.

 

[docbrown]

Millions of dollars for f**k all work, yeah they'll really struggle convincing more to cross if they wanted.

An athlete only has a limited amount of time in which to make a name for himself. You really think Israel's going to be proud of all his :lol:achievements:lol: at GWS?

Both he and any other player considering converting are going to seriously question if its worth pissing away two years of your prime to be remembered as nothing but a punchline.

In the end the AFL won this, got the coverage they wanted with Folau and the AFL fans can have a laugh at a rugby league superstar that couldn't cut it in the AFL.

So much for their marketing ploy at targeting polynesian kids and converting kids from league to AFL... apparently their role model, a pro athlete, can't even do it. Yeah, brilliant marketing idea that...

If you really want to laugh then check this out -

vs Essendon 11887
vs Western Bulldogs 9128
vs Gold Coast 9603
vs Collingwod 8102
vs Adelaide 7669
vs Melbourne 7561
vs Richmond 7538
vs West Coast 6875
vs Port Adelaide 6811
vs North Melbourne 6696

That's if you even actually believe those crowds. :lol:

What a brilliant marketing strategy. :lol:

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

The whole thing was a joke from the start.
Firstly it was ,we are putting a team in WS so the poor little white kids who are sick of getting hurt playing far bigger Poly kidshave a team & a new sport to play.

Secondly ,we are signing Izzy to attract the large poly population of WS to AFL.

Then today we have Vlad in the media saying

"Israel Folau has been a terrific ambassador for our game in the past two years and his courageous decision to give AFL football a go has helped inspire many children, particularly in NSW and Queensland, to play and watch Australian football," AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/150627/default.aspx

Seems Vlad is ignoring the report released 2 weeks ago saying playing numbers had stagnated & gone backwards.

Spin spin spin.

 

[Nerd]

I wonder if all that aerobic training he was doing to be afl-ready is going to have any benefits for his return. I reckon GWS probably have a better sports science department than most NRL teams so will be interesting to see how he is handled.

I really hope he signs for any of the western sydney clubs and they market him well. Would be hilarious.

Since League is essentially a game of short sprints I doubt all the mid paced long distance running will do Folau much good on his return.

I also believe until he can put on a bit of muscle mass he will struggle in defence especially close to the line.

 

[docbrown]

The whole thing was a joke from the start.
Firstly it was ,we are putting a team in WS so the poor little white kids who are sick of getting hurt playing far bigger Poly kidshave a team & a new sport to play.

Secondly ,we are signing Izzy to attract the large poly population of WS to AFL.

Then today we have Vlad in the media saying


http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/150627/default.aspx

Seems Vlad is ignoring the report released 2 weeks ago saying playing numbers had stagnated & gone backwards.

Spin spin spin.

AFL + Numbers = Bullshit

 

[Desert Qlder]

A point to consider for those who say Folau has been a marketing success for AFL:

Has it ever occurred to you just how much publicity Folau created for Rugby League in Melbourne?

Every time I picked up a Herald Sun articles about GWS would mention "NRL Star Israel Folau". It is very possible that in their mad rush to secure publicity in Sydney, the AFL was doing the very opposite in Melbourne.

At their expense of course.

 

[Jason Maher]

How on Earth can Eels afford all these players?

The same way your useless mob has over the last few years...

 

[boxhead]

The same way your useless mob has over the last few years...

:lol:

Rabbitohs fan complaining about another team having multiple highly-paid players is like a Roosters fan....well, you get the picture.

 

[BranVan3000]

The same way your useless mob has over the last few years...

We haven't had a high profile signing since Inglis