Folau to Western Sydney

[Mr Magoo]

Well the people i spoke too i had to ask rather than them tell me. They couldn't give a hoot and tbh league ppl are used to this sort of thing happening..it seems to be an annual event for NRL. Last year it was SBW.

And you are right it's got melbourne buzzing but pointless really and very amateurish.

Agree, the majority view is :
1. He is a queenslander who shunned his roots when he could have played for NSW in RL, so no one is really that enamoured to him anyway. Bit like sending Chris Judd over to Perth to head up an NRL Franchise. Yes it will create publicity but most people couldnt give a hoot.

2. You dont make people like a code just by putting a rugby league player in. Most people in Sydney are just not interested in AFL. We all dont watch french rugby just because sonny bill williams and mark gasnier went off to milk that cow.

3. Rugby league players and the polynesians in particular are seen to be mercenaries with little sense of loyalty to club or code , so if it wasnt league it would have been french rugby or something else. Lest face it he isnt there to express his love of the game

[KirkysSocks]

Exactly mate.

I know there is already bitterness in the Lions camp about the AFL signing league players.

Our stars deserve big bucks too: Michael Voss | Courier Mail

Basically the school of thought among league fans is basically stuff him, The Broncos should throw Folau a big bon voyage party and wish him all the best.

No point in moaning about his leaving the NRL and instead it should be looked upon as creating an opportunity for another young player to come up and play top grade.

One thing the NRL has never been short of is finding replacement "stars" to highlight the game.

Yep it's suffered so many blows in 100 years and this is just another notch i suppose.

They (RL) should look at the positives and be proud that two other major codes have needed to pay big $$$$ to poach their talent to make inroads and one has already failed. NRL suffers from too much of a complex these days being based in Sydney..take away the negatives and watch a game and sometimes it's better than a modern day game of rules, which can be quite predicable atm.

Although we lost, the syd vs haw game was a riveting contest and was one of the only games i have enjoyed watching this year.

[Adelaide Swan]

I reckon Hunt and Folau could turn into the biggest mistakes the AFL have ever made. They are trying to be too clever by half.

Look at the Union - and the players they took. If anything, this caused a lot of turmoil and upset and the game in Australia has fallen away. In AFL there are already rumblings about the two "blow-ins" getting paid more than anyone else in the game. more than veterans who have proven their worth !

You can train these two all you like - but playing the game is an entirely different thing IMO. If they take a season to get going - or fail - it will cause ongoing rifts in the game. Remember the bush teams that got the big city star and players would say - well, he's payed the money - let him do the work !

If the GWS and Gold Coast AFL Teams perform badly (in their first 3 or 4 seasons) and their "star" buys fail, it may prove a huge $ drain on the AFL coffers and ultimately see the end of both of these teams - and possibly us who are already suffering in crowds etc due to the fact that Sydney is (whether you like it or not) a LEAGUE town ! Without ongoing AFL support it will fail.

League will survive and become stronger.

Still - good luck to them - fantastic money ! The pressure on them to succeed will be immense.

[KirkysSocks]

hahaha i keep thinking The Great Macarthy and The Club and you make a reference to bush footy!!

I am worried on the impact it will have on the swans. There is just not enough support atm for this to work, well not for the code. I know my sydney market well and i am a sydney boy at heart and grew up in and around this region and i just don't think this will work in this manner.

And really Kieren Jack should have been used as a major tool to promote the code in Sydney, but in a manner sans swans. An ambassador role. Tell his story and encourage young kids who keep hearing from dad that AFL is a sissys game. But he hasn't been approached at all. From a marketing perspective for the code growth SOG is perfect!

BTW i don't want either code dead..i like em both.

[Cheer Squad]

LOL

You really think so? A money grabbing qldser is thrown to NSW people in order to make them salivate at watching rules..you really think that NSW will warm to the way the AFL has so arrogantly marched in and decided that the people of GWS want no make that have to watch AFL. I spoke to a few friends in Sydney last night and not one gave a @@@@ about it. Not one. These are not snobs and they watch sport, soccer league and whatever else is offered but not once have they sat down and watched AFL.

I have an aunty who was married a few years ago, she lives in the core area for GWS and she doesn't want her son to play rules. I can only imagine what the opinion of other young families are.

But yes convince yourself, like the AFL has brainwashed you, in thinking this is the best marketing coup ever..when really it has a 90% of embarrassing the AFL in the long term.

I am pissed off at the way melbourne people seem to think they know the sydney sporting landscape, expect everyone to obsess over afl and don't understand that in other states its irrelevant and how blindly some knuckle draggers think this is like a marketing dream.

Goodness me.

Some people are easily threatened, aren't they? You're obviously very angry at his defection.

Now where do I start?

Well, first of all, I'm not from Victoria, I actually grew up in Sydney's west. And I'm not much of a knuckle-dragger, either.

No one I'm aware of is suggesting that you have to watch AFL. It's just another choice. If you and your aunty don't like the code, or the new western Sydney team, no problem. Don't watch.

Whether you like it or not, it's very simple. There will be a great deal of interest in how Folau and Hunt perform in the AFL. Curiosity alone will put backsides on seats when their respective teams enter the competition.

Western Sydney is a large place, you know. About 2 million people. That's probably a few more than in your social circle. I reckon there might be more just a few of them who've seen the dollars Folau and Hunt are getting, and are thinking - maybe our son could get a slice of that? Maybe he doesn't have the right build for league? Maybe it's worth having a bit of a look? I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

Maybe Folau's defection does have a 90% chance of embarrassing the AFL. I think that other 10% might be a better bet.

[KirkysSocks]

I just wasted a whole 30 seconds reading that crap.

[Lucky Knickers]

I just wasted a whole 30 seconds reading that crap.

Now you know how everyone else is feeling.

[Big Al]

I know many league fans believe it will backfire on the AFL badly.

It'll turn more people away from AFL

RL fans will not switch, in fact it'll make them hate the game even more and AFL players and juniors will be p'd off about 2 blowins earning more money than any other player before kicking a ball.
.

Why do they need to switch???? To be fair the AFL have never said they want people to abandon league and follow the AFL because they know that won't happen. They are hoping to find enough people among the 2 million people in GWS that do what I do and follow both codes.

The real war being fought in GWS is for junior participation and the elephant in the room is not AFL or League, it's Soccer.

[Triple B]

Now you know how everyone else is feeling.

Exactly

[Wardy]

The person who brought the argument back down to earth yesterday was Sheeds himself. He was being interveiwed by Stuart MCgill and in the back ground Mark Geyer was going off his nut (I mean lets face it, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed at the best of times) saying that it was a world take over and he was getting really carried away - all Sheed said in reply was "what - we have taken 2 players in 150 years, yeah righto, takeover" he must have given Geyer one of those "you really are an idiot" looks and it stopped Geyer in his tracks.

Its sad that some cant get their heads around it that they dont have to switch codes - they can follow league only if they wish, or they can follow League and AFL, some even follow, League, AFL & Union, others League, AFL, Union & Soccer - its not a world gone mad - its called having a choice.

[ScottH]

The person who brought the argument back down to earth yesterday was Sheeds himself. He was being interveiwed by Stuart MCgill and in the back ground Mark Geyer was going off his nut (I mean lets face it, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed at the best of times) saying that it was a world take over and he was getting really carried away - all Sheed said in reply was "what - we have taken 2 players in 150 years, yeah righto, takeover" he must have given Geyer one of those "you areally are an idiot" looks and it stopped Geyer in his tracks.

Its sad that some cant get their heads around it that they dont have to switch codes - they can follow league only if they wish, or they can follow League and AFL, some even follow, League, AFL & Union, others League, AFL, Union & Soccer - its not a world gone mad - its called have a choice.

BUT this is an AFL site, wardy. Only one code allowed. No outsiders allowed in. Especially non Vics.
Note to self: Must go and delete that WC thread!!

[Wardy]

BUT this is an AFL site, wardy. Only one code allowed. No outsiders allowed in. Especially non Vics.
Note to self: Must go and delete that WC thread!!

oh well I'd best be on my way then!!! I'm going to Melbourne tomorrow for a meeting, should I pack the passport - or do I still have carry over points from when I worked down there in the 80's?

[KirkysSocks]

The person who brought the argument back down to earth yesterday was Sheeds himself. He was being interveiwed by Stuart MCgill and in the back ground Mark Geyer was going off his nut (I mean lets face it, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed at the best of times) saying that it was a world take over and he was getting really carried away - all Sheed said in reply was "what - we have taken 2 players in 150 years, yeah righto, takeover" he must have given Geyer one of those "you really are an idiot" looks and it stopped Geyer in his tracks.

Its sad that some cant get their heads around it that they dont have to switch codes - they can follow league only if they wish, or they can follow League and AFL, some even follow, League, AFL & Union, others League, AFL, Union & Soccer - its not a world gone mad - its called having a choice.

Choice is not an option in melbourne, It's either AFL or nothing. I follow NRL AFL A-League yet am seen as not a real footy fan cause i allow my senses to wonder away from afl. Go over to bigforty they even have a subforum dedicated to anti-soccer or anti-wc. For self proclaimed sporting capital of the world they sure have a weird idea about the concept.

[Adelaide Swan]

Choice is not an option in melbourne, It's either AFL or nothing. I follow NRL AFL A-League yet am seen as not a real footy fan cause i allow my senses to wonder away from afl. Go over to bigforty they even have a subforum dedicated to anti-soccer or anti-wc. For self proclaimed sporting capital of the world they sure have a weird idea about the concept.

Exactly KS, I pretty much follow all football codes as well.

When it comes to football codes it means Cronulla Sharks in the NRL,Swannies in the AFL and Leeds United in soccer(not in any particular order either).

We all have a choice in this world of what code to follow and we happen to support them all.

I think the issue league fans have that GWS will be hurting the junior base in Western Sydney.

It makes me laugh whenever Melbourne calls itself the sporting capital of Australia.

In their dreams.

It's a well known fact that there is concern among parents in that area of big Polynesian kids flattening their kids in league so they either sign their kids up for football or soccer.

I think that's what league fans are concerned about.

[Big Al]

Folau to Western Sydney

The person who brought the argument back down to earth yesterday was Sheeds himself. He was being interveiwed by Stuart MCgill and in the back ground Mark Geyer was going off his nut (I mean lets face it, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed at the best of times) saying that it was a world take over and he was getting really carried away - all Sheed said in reply was "what - we have taken 2 players in 150 years, yeah righto, takeover" he must have given Geyer one of those "you really are an idiot" looks and it stopped Geyer in his tracks.

Its sad that some cant get their heads around it that they dont have to switch codes - they can follow league only if they wish, or they can follow League and AFL, some even follow, League, AFL & Union, others League, AFL, Union & Soccer - its not a world gone mad - its called having a choice.

Sheeds v Geyer. An intellectual mismatch of epic proportions.

Also your right Wardy, it is about choice. Whether they find enough people in GWS to make that choice I'm just not sure.