Folau to Western Sydney

[KirkysSocks]

Ks, Turn Underbelly off and go outside will ya...

hahaha i stay away from that bogan crap.

Look i love the city of melbourne. But the people can be a bit too provincial sometimes in their way of thinking and i can't help but to fly the flag for the swans!

[KirkysSocks]

Mate i dont know what your on about. If anything I've got a little bit more crediblity going for the swans because I support them passionately even without any allies in my circle of friends. Most of my mates respect the swannies as a team too, and are more than willing to chat about them with me, as i with thier team(s)

I am talking about the people you meet on a daily basis, the ones after a game at the pub.

None of the people that are close to me disrespect me and vice versa when it comes to footy..my wife is a....a......a.....




..collingwood supporter and she loves the swans as much as she loves the pies, same as some of my other friends who are mixed hawk, blues and pies supporters.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Okay Fair enough, but I've yet to encounter these poeple myself

[Kirkari]

This thread is hysterical! Here's me thinking Melbourne is a cosmopolitan city to the south, with some very cool laneways and excellent shopping, and turns out it's a dog-eat-dog, totalitarian state run by Andy D and his stormtroopers. Who knew?! Thank God I haven't been down there since, oh, say, Monday this week.

What this has to do with GWS is not clear, but I am so much the wiser about the "real" Melbourne. Perhaps the moral of the story is that we should put an end to this GWS nonsense before I have to hide my golf clubs in the attic. Just kidding. I don't have any golf clubs.

BTW, I think the signing is fine. Highly unlikely he'll be any kind of legend of the game, but he's not going to embarrass himself either. Do you think he hasn't been a natural at every sport he's ever tried? And if there has to be a GWS, they have to sign someone to get the ball rolling. Rather steal from the NRL than from the Swans.

[Adelaide Swan]

I think KS does a valid point about Melbourne fans(not all but some).

I always remember my mum telling me several years ago she once wore a Carlton guernsey in the middle of the Melbourne CBD and almost got assaulted by melonheads down there for wearing it.

I also had an experience myself going to one of our games against Collingwood at ANZ Stadium back in 2004 and I was heckled by Collingwood supporters at Central railway station for wearing our jersey.

The minister at my local church is also from Melbourne, a Hawthorn supporter and his wife is a North Melbourne supporter and I can tell you they knew nothing about other football codes when they came to Sydney.

[goswannie14]

And that's why swans fans are perceived the way they are in melbourne, someone needs to stick up for the rubbish i hear constantly about my team. ......... Silly way to get some respect.

You are startiung to sound like a Collingwood supporter and you know how they are perceived.

You really need to live and work in melbourne to experience how football somehow finds it way into any conversation. It's complete opposite to what it is in sydney thats for sure. As for the League being attacked it all starts with it being called rugby..and when corrected it doesn't make a difference as it's still referenced as Rugby...

So do you also correct people who call the "International" football code soccer?

No chance my dear, like the code we both love if you back away from a contest then you are severely judged. You need to go in and win the hard ball to gain respect in this city!

No you don't, that's absolute rubbish. Most normal people can talk about their team and opposition with oiut taking offence.....than there are Collingwood supporters.

Mate i dont know what your on about. If anything I've got a little bit more crediblity going for the swans because I support them passionately even without any allies in my circle of friends. Most of my mates respect the swannies as a team too, and are more than willing to chat about them with me, as i with thier team(s)

Hear Hear, I have had the same reaction, although all of my friends know I am a Swan from Waaaay back.

Time to get this thread back on topic.

[Cheer Squad]

Folau probably won't be the last coup from the look of things...

Coaches eye repeat raids on NRL

[Melbourne_Blood]

They would be stupid to go after more League players with big bucks. If they ( RL players) wanna have a crack let them by all means, but don't pay them any more than say a guy from Ireland trying his luck at the game. I wonder how many would want to try out on a Rookie salary?

[goswannie14]

While most expected the AFL's poaching would cease after the two cashed-up new franchises had secured their big-name targets, Scott hinted yesterday the Kangaroos are interested in playing the code-jumping game.

''I'm absolutely rapt the AFL have been able to get players like Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt to come across and play our game as elite first-choice athletes. I think it's an absolutely magnificent thing for AFL football ? I'd love to have Karmichael Hunt or Israel Folau at North Melbourne.''

This made me laugh.....as if North Melbourne would have the money.

[Damien]

They would be stupid to go after more League players with big bucks. If they ( RL players) wanna have a crack let them by all means, but don't pay them any more than say a guy from Ireland trying his luck at the game. I wonder how many would want to try out on a Rookie salary?

You could never justify it as an elite sportsmen, there would need to be an incentive to cross over. Personally, I would go afte one more, that is Greg Inglis and then let the experiment run and see how the cross over is.

[beameup]

Some of the people on this site need to look at the makeup of Falau money. 250-300000 for playing, more for being ambassador and some more if certain triggers are hit to allow bonuses to be paid. All up it is a maximum of 1.2 M. Sure it is a lot of money but if he does not attract numbers he does not get the money. Western Sydney does not have the juniors to feed through into senior players yet but if a local hero, born at Minto, can get say 300 boys playing that would not have we will see clubs like Penrith in the Premier League. One step at a time and lets face it someone like Judd or Ablett or Kirk simply would not generate the interest. Unique money for a unique opportunity........thats Israel

[Triple B]

This made me laugh.....as if North Melbourne would have the money.

I think having no money is the hidden agenda here GS14.

Scott and Norf are kissing asses bigtime on this issue and will happily take a project on .... providing the AFL foot the bill.

[Cheer Squad]

Here's our old friend Nick Davis's opinions on who'd be able to make the transition from NRL to AFL...

Top leaguies could be stars with a Sherrin, says former Swan

Most people seem to think Greg Inlgis would be most likely to make a successful transition. I think Billy Slater would also make a real go of it. His explosive speed would be an asset to any team. Maybe Longmire should give him a call.