AFL player revolt feared as Brendan Fevola, Simon Black question Israel Folau's huge pay day
SOME of the AFL's greatest names fear a simmering player revolt is on over the chequebook raids of rugby league stars Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt.
Brisbane Lions star Brendan Fevola says the $6 million, four-year contract for Folau to play for the AFL's Western Sydney expansion club is a "slap in the face" to existing AFL stars.
Brisbane champion Simon Black labelled the contract as "ridiculous", which was also the word used by Lions coach Michael Voss and his predecessor Leigh Matthews.
And Fevola said he believed most AFL players would agree with their view that "it's a lot of money to throw at a player who hasn't played footy before".
In a bid to hose down unrest, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou on Tuesday sent a letter to all players at the 16 AFL clubs.
Demetriou explained how snaring first-choice athletes from other codes is "essential in assisting us to grow the overall pool".
Demetriou said Folau and Hunt had "around average" playing contracts for an AFL player, but both have separate promotional contracts in view of their importance in expansion markets.
"Recruiting players, particularly internationally, does come at an additional cost, but we applaud clubs who are prepared to make that investment and then back their capacity to train those athletes to become AFL-standard players," Demetriou wrote.
Former North Melbourne great Wayne Carey said he could understand the huge publicity generated by the poaching of Folau and Hunt would make it a success, but said it was inevitable players would be upset.
Folau's Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen said he found it "amusing" that the AFL touted itself as the most popular code yet needed NRL players to front their franchises.
"At some point they are going to have to start buying players that can actually play the game," Cullen said.
Liam Pickering, manager of leading players including Gold Coast's No.1 target Gary Ablett, said he could understand players would have their "noses out of joint".
Fevola said it was unfair that AFL players could play for 10 or 12 years and "this bloke comes in and gets offered a million bucks".
"It's not Izzy's fault," Fevola said.
"But Gary Ablett is not even on that sort of money."
Carey said: "I'm not quite sure about a Queenslander going to West Sydney (as a promotional spearhead). I don't know how that's going to pay off."
"I agree with Vossy ... it (the big contracts) should be going to the players who are putting on the show now," Carey told website backpagelead.com.
"It is messy. It would cause a little bit of trouble if it is not outlined what these guys are getting paid for. If you are a young guy playing for the Gold Coast and Western Sydney and these guys are going ordinary and you think 'What am I worth?"
Pickering said he his players had not complained to him about Folau's payday.
"My players haven't said anything to me. I think they will raise their eyebrows more than anything because they know we are talking about a completely different beast here . . . a new team that is only going to spend God only knows how much on marketing and this is the way they could probably do it," he said.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...aus-huge-pay-day/story-e6frep5x-1225874176726
