The myths of NRL players moving to the AFL
Columnist By Michael DiFabrizio, 4 May 2010 Michael DiFabrizio is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- AFL, Gold Coast Football Club, Greater Western Sydney, Israel Folau, Karmichael Hunt, NRL, Rugby League
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Brisbane Broncos rugby league player Karmichael Hunt poses with a Gold Coast AFL franchise jersey. AAP Image/Patrick Hamilton
Brisbane Broncos star Israel Folau is expected to soon announce which club – and code – he’ll be playing for next year. With just the slightest hint that Greater Western Sydney was his destination last week, it didn’t take long for the usual lines to be thrown out. You know, the “This is proof anyone can play AFL”-type lines.
Just like after the Billy Slater talk a week beforehand. Just like after the Karmichael Hunt signing before that.
The AFL chasing after rugby league converts has been misconstrued in many ways, and it’s time a few of the “myths” are put to bed.
This is proof anyone can play in the AFL
Not quite. This is proof that anyone that possesses the athletic qualities of a Karmichael Hunt or Israel Folau can be given the chance to play in the AFL. There’s a bit of a difference.
Not everyone has the talents of Hunt and Folau, of course. It’s not as though these guys have been plucked straight off the street. But even then, there’s no guarantee they will make it, or even play a single senior game – at this stage all they’ve been presented with is an opportunity.
And for those who think playing in the AFL is a walk in the park, have a look at the Jordan Lewis and Jarrod Harbrow collision from a few weeks back and you’ll see the AFL isn’t a place for just “anyone”.
Look at all those Irish blokes crossing over – it’s easy to make the transition
Another perplexing myth. Only three converts from Gaelic football have reached the 100-game milestone – Tadhg Kennelly, Jim Stynes and Stynes’ teammate Sean Wight. Outside of those three, the list of Irish players to have come over is littered with stories of those who couldn’t cut it. Many never make a senior debut, some even struggle to see out their first season.
The stories of Stynes and Kennelly, as great as they are, shouldn’t lead to the conclusion that it’s easy to make the transition.
It has everything to do with publicity and nothing to do with them playing footy
Publicity is a huge factor in all of this. It’s the chief motivator, I’ve written. But these signings are not all for publicity. Expansion has forced all clubs to think outside the square when it comes to recruiting and to try and open new avenues for talent.
It’s not just rugby league players being signed up, it’s Americans and former basketballers, it’s rugby union players, it’s even more Irishmen, it’s young Fijians, it’s young Kiwis. Players on Gold Coast’s current VFL list have backgrounds in soccer, cricket, basketball, swimming and athletics.
Mind you, having said all that, the fact they are high-profile rugby league players means they get a fair bit more money thrown at them. Which leads to the next myth …
It’s money down the drain
This simply isn’t the case. Believe it or not, the investment in Karmichael Hunt has already paid off. After stories filtered through newspapers, radio, television and the internet, the publicity generated by his signing was valued at $7.5 million.
That’s well above what he’s being paid, and the best part for Gold Coast and the AFL is he hasn’t even played a game yet. Imagine the media attention on his first training session, his first VFL game, his first pre-season game, his first AFL game … it’s crazy to even think about what all that will be worth.
Again, this isn’t to say publicity is the only reason Gold Coast and the AFL went after him. He actually possesses athletic talents. But it is to say that his signing – and any potential Folau signing – isn’t simply money down the drain.
They’ll be taking spots off guys who’ve played the game their whole lives
Actually, the introduction of two new clubs will create almost a hundred new senior list positions, not even including the rookies listed on top of that. The next few years provide a number of opportunities for talent – be they already playing the game or otherwise – to find a spot on an AFL list.
Even then, the non-registered rookie provision – the provision used to sign players like Hunt and Folau – allows players not registered as playing Aussie Rules in the past three years to be signed onto the rookie list (away from the senior list) virtually on top of the salary cap (away from the entire list).
Have the AFL ever seen this guy actually kick?
Both Hunt and Folau have gone through kicking tests – and a general skills test, for that matter – with the AFL’s Jason McCartney. Just because nobody’s seen Folau kick in an NRL game, doesn’t mean the AFL haven’t seen him kick.
This is great, it’s the best thing the AFL have ever done, it’s a no-brainer …
To be fair on the critics, there are a couple of reasons to think a few AFL people are getting a little bit too excited by what’s happening. To suggest there’s completely no downside to all this is also a tad off the mark.
The AFL are setting a strange precedent by helping to pay these players’ salaries through a “marketing allowance”. What’s to stop Carlton asking for the AFL to pay part of Chris Judd’s salary? Is he not marketable? What about Gary Ablett at Geelong? Better yet, what if an existing club, a club not in a developing market, wanted to sign an NRL player?
It does open up a can of worms.
Also, there’s definitely a chance for the positive publicity to backfire once these recruits take to the field or, worse still, don’t take to the field. The scrutiny on them will be intense.
They are going to be absolute failures / great successes
This part of things cannot be foreseen. Nobody knows whether it’s possible to pluck a young rugby league star, develop him for a year and see him out on an AFL field and have him actually belong there.
Which is why experiments like the Hunt signing will be so fascinating. They are great stories.
Instead of jumping to conclusions, the best thing for any Australian sports fan right now is to simply sit back and see how it all plays out.
Recommend this story.
Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio
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May 4th 2010 @ 9:47am
waterboy said | May 4th 2010 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Did Andrew Demetriou ghost this article Michael?
May 4th 2010 @ 10:25am
captain nemo said | May 4th 2010 @ 10:25am | Report comment
well redb and MC both gave this article a wrap. say no more. tip to Micheal Difabrizio
May 4th 2010 @ 10:18am
Republican said | May 4th 2010 @ 10:18am | Report comment
Al
Could not agree more. They are cutting off their nose to spite their face more or less.
This will disenfranchise many heartlands mark my words and it serves them right. The irony is that by going head to head with the already established global codes they will ultimately lose out, in spreading themselves thinly which will dilute their traditional support base in Australia.
Much of this is being driven by what I consider to be a cringe element within the code that is pushing the ‘Internationalist’ agenda at any cost. The game will be unrecognizable in a couple of decades, due to the compromising of its culture to this end.
May 4th 2010 @ 2:13pm
ozzzie said | May 4th 2010 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
one of the main reasons of recruiting hunt was for the publicity, as it is now evident, the team is a year away from playing yet it is constantly in the media spotlight. this article along with the dozens of comments would not exist if they didn’t sign hunt. so it is essentially about keeping the club relevant in the media spotlight despite them not playing for another year.
the potential folau signing if it was to happen will be for similar reasons.
May 4th 2010 @ 2:31pm
Republican said | May 4th 2010 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
ozzie
This is a very expensive publicity exercise. I would have thought Abletts signing would be far more productive in killing two birds with one stone, i.e. publicity and recruitment.
Given Hunt is unlikely to get out of the VFL where he will probably languish throughout his footy career, the AFL must have an excess of dough to throw around.
It is obsene then that they cannot spend this sort of excess in offering a financially struggling WB’s some incentive to continue playing games in Australian heartlands i.e Canberra, rather than expediently giving them their blessing to play two home games on MARS, NZ come 2011!
May 4th 2010 @ 2:42pm
M1tch said | May 4th 2010 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
i shouldnt complain – if roles reverse im sure NRL would be doing same thing, I think Folau will go, at 21 he is young enough to have a crack and he has already achieved (on the record books no GF win) more than some players do in a 10 year career
May 4th 2010 @ 2:58pm
Redb said | May 4th 2010 @ 2:58pm | Report comment
When is Folau likely to announce? Could ths not go on for sometime given the only deadline was to allow his 2 year option to expire?
May 4th 2010 @ 3:05pm
M1tch said | May 4th 2010 @ 3:05pm | Report comment
Perhaps after origin 1 maybe to see if he gets picked, I dont think Mal wants him there so Id say around Origin 1 time
May 4th 2010 @ 3:11pm
Redb said | May 4th 2010 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
I have no doubt and let’s not forget News ltd are throwing miilions at junior Vic RL development and would jump at an AFL connection for the headline.
May 4th 2010 @ 3:35pm
Crosscoder said | May 4th 2010 @ 3:35pm | Report comment
News constantly reminds us of k HUnt and K Jack(after 2 decades) leaping the great divide after spending millions.Life goes on,rl does not wither or stagnate.Neither should it if Izzie does likewise for the expensive PR stunt.
BTW it is not just News throwing millions at Vic junior rl.The ARL has financial input.
May 4th 2010 @ 5:53pm
Rocco Siffredi said | May 4th 2010 @ 5:53pm | Report comment
It’s a publicity stunt. The London gridiron team got Martin Offiah back in the old World Gridiron league days.
Of course he never played.
May 4th 2010 @ 6:32pm
Karlos said | May 4th 2010 @ 6:32pm | Report comment
It is great publicity for the NRL and costs them nothing. Imagine how many AFL fans are interested in Rugby League now because the AFL is. Murdoch and Rugby Union learnt that trying to buy Rugby League fans does not work. AFL will learn it too.
May 4th 2010 @ 11:31pm
Emperor Penguin said | May 4th 2010 @ 11:31pm | Report comment
spot on. People follow the clubs and sport they love. Players come and go its the passion for the game and club remains.
You can’t buy that kind of loyalty, it has to be earned. Mind you, success and history are important. Look at the storm. Lots of success, but the salary cap issue has actually done more for them than premierships.
Cronulla is a case in point that you can’t suck forever and maintain that loyalty. And the percistent disinterest in the Swans is proof Sydney doesn’t much care for AFL, just as Melbourne doesn’t much care for RL.
May 5th 2010 @ 3:30pm
Aljay said | May 5th 2010 @ 3:30pm | Report comment
Exactly. The ARU are finding now that purchasing Sailor, Rogers, Tahu and Tuquri gained short term publicity but did nothing to covert long-term followers. It can be argued that had much more success than Hunt & Folau are likely to have too.
May 4th 2010 @ 11:14pm
chris said | May 4th 2010 @ 11:14pm | Report comment
Too many Football codes in Australia.