2011 NRL Player Rumours & Signings

Issac Gordon has looked good from what I have seen on him and I suppose if he was dirt cheap it wouldn't be a bad move. He is quite quick and showed on Saturday night that he can create a line break, probably suffering from being in an average football team at the moment
 
I haven't even heard Isaac Gordon's name since he scored an intercept against us and was the next Greg Inglis apparently? :crazy:
 
ISRAEL Folau has decided to walk out on rugby league and will sign a $1 million-a-season contract with the Greater Western Sydney AFL team by week's end.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Folau has privately agreed to terms with the AFL's newest franchise - and he has even stated he is keen to play at full-forward.

"The deal with GWS will be done by the end of the week," a highly placed source confirmed last night.

Folau's decision will come as a massive blow to the NRL and will give the new GWS franchise a huge boost in terms of its profile in the Sydney market.

Queensland officials will now have to wrestle with the merits of playing Folau in Origin II.

The Melbourne Rebels were officially ruled out of the race for one of league's hottest talents last Friday.

Folau, 21, grew up at Minto in western Sydney and will quickly settle back into the area with family when he starts the new mega-rich contract, worth $3 million over three years.

While sceptics will question the value of Folau's deal, AFL sources are confident he can make the transition - even comparing him to Hawthorn spearhead Lance Franklin due to his size, strength and speed. Folau has been tested by AFL experts and he was found to be strong in key performance areas.

"The same testing protocol that Karmichael Hunt went through Israel has gone through, and the same conclusions were drawn in terms of his capacity to successfully make the transition," said the source.

Recently asked what role he thought he could play should he switch codes, Folau said: "Maybe a full-forward or something like that. There would be a lot of skills I would have to learn to try to adapt to their game pretty quick. If I make the transition there, it's going to be a big challenge."

GWS will enter the VFL - the second-tier competition in Victoria - next season, where Folau will see his first Aussie rules action. Sydneysiders can expect to see Folau for the first time in his new code in the NAB Cup competition in February.

Folau discussed his future with former Broncos teammate and Gold Coast Football Club recruit Hunt this week. Like Hunt, Folau's contract will be heavily paid as promotional work with his playing salary more relative to his experience.

While Brisbane and rugby's Rebels were only able to offer Folau around $500,000 per year, GWS and the AFL blew the other codes out of the water with their lucrative package.

In AFL terms, it is his kicking ability that remains the biggest question mark hanging over his potential performance levels.

But former Collingwood full-forward and renowned kicking coach Brian Taylor yesterday said Folau's kicking skills could be brought up to speed.

"The really good teachers will tell you the blank canvas is better to work with than the one that has already been painted," Taylor said.

He said he understood the desire to play Folau at full-forward because other spots may not be suitable.

"There is no way he could play in the midfield," he said.

"He would be asked to run flat out for eight minutes. That would be a real concern. If I was playing fullback on Israel Folau the first thing I would do is take him in to traffic. Make him run. Make four or five leads."
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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-gws-team-in-afl/story-e6frexnr-1225873730389

This is a massive disgrace for AFL...i mean, he is getting 1 million a season and he hasn't played AFL before and he can't even kick...how would you feel if you were a player who has come up through AFL juniors, been playing it your whole life and would only be on, say 350k?
 
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Wont be selected to play for the Marooons.

Who would want to play AFL anyway? Bye Folau, and dont come back.
 
Hey if someone offered me $1 Mil a season to play a game I've never played before and will more than likely be terrible at I'd take it
 
stinger said:
Hey if someone offered me $1 Mil a season to play a game I've never played before and will more than likely be terrible at I'd take it
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True dat!

Part of me hopes he fails, but the other part hopes he beats those pansie AFL players at there game. Imagine a guy with no experience going into AFL and being great at it this will just prove that NRL has the superior players.
 
stinger said:
Hey if someone offered me $1 Mil a season to play a game I've never played before and will more than likely be terrible at I'd take it
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I wouldn't if I knew deep down I'd struggle at it. Could be public humiliation for Israel.

KHunt might have played as a youngster but my understanding is Izzy hasn't.
 
I'm not so sure there will be public humiliation. In fact league fans will be expecting him to fail. They will no doubt cop a lot from the Melbourne media if they don't play well but who cares about them?

They may have a price tag to live up to but that price was set by the clubs siging them, not the players themselves and certainly not on evidence of their playing ability in AFL. I can't believe the AFL honestly expects the people of Western Sydeny, a die hard rugby league territory to switch the code that they watch because of one player.
 
I think it would be humiliating if he cant produce. I'd be spewing if I was a diehard fan and this guys on 1mil.

It's like having Barry Hall join Newcastle on 1 mil a year... big risk.

I'm 5 mins from the Stadium and highly doubt I would ever attend a match.

I've gone and watched a Swans game and left halfway through... just did nothing for me.

Adding to that, no one has even mentioned it around town... like there really is nothing doing in the AFL world out here :lol:
 
They seem to think they have this magic product that will bring people to the games. I went to the Brisbane v Carlton knockout final at the Gabba last year and I agree it did nothing for me. It was a 'good' game to with Brisbane coming back late to win but it just didn't feel like that to me.

I really do hope it fails miserably, that will teach them for trying to invade our heart land
 
It will be quite a sight when the AFL see how much of a dud Folau really is. They are planning to play him at full foward where he has to kick a lot of goals. Sure when inside 50 Folau can catch the ball while leaping above the pack, but they don't know what his kicking ability is like. He will do all the hard work and then miss all of his kicks probably.
 
The NRL really is dying a slow and painful death, isn't it?

Yet another top player departs ...
 
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