..Broncos star Israel Folau will quit NRL and join GWS team in AFL From Telegraph
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."
Has anybody ever seen the bloke kick?
