Izzy ready for the AFL? Not by a long shot

It will be far more interesting when they discover how much more difficult it is to lay ...... effective.....tackles in Aussie Rules which is a 360 degree game compared to league which is barely more than a 90 degree game when you get into the tackling zone. Not to mention a compeltely different set of rules as to what is allowed in both codes. For example in League you can fall on top of the guy and literally bury him, with the help of several team mates at the same time, try that in Aussie Rules and they will be penalised. I'm sure when they do make a tackle though, they will hold on .

james the answer is straight forward enough, I can say it with absolute confidence it cannot afford anymore, and it will not happen again (recruiting League star in their 20s) the focus for the AFL, from now on, will be identifying 14-15 year old kids who have the attributes to play the game (recalling that Hunt was identified as a 16/17 year old, but nothing came of it at the time)

well you could say folaus getting paid millions for being a poster boy. how many " ex rugby league player" poster boys can the AFL afford, while heartland clubs like the kangeroos continue to battle on.

JVGO, so, you admit you don't know and yet your original post was full of stuff that you knew. So, should we just assume it was a blatant crack at the AFL, just for the sake of it?

Just to add to that, at U16 level, countries like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa have made fantastic progress in a very short space of time (obviously PNG and Nauru were already strong). Indeed, so far have these Pacific Island nations come in the past 3 years, that at this year's IC, some countries are questioning whether they should be in the second division, even though it will be their first or second time in the comp. Looks like a few European countries aren't that keen at having to play against some Pacific Islands, which says a lot!

100% correct rob.As a proud polynesian the AFL have created an awareness among our people.The door is open along with another option, so in time the south pacific region will appreciate what a great game Aussie Rules is.

Republican You can go through all of the state leagues and find good footballers galore. For the vast bulk of them, there are a couple of key areas where they are found wanting at the elite level. You will know this from personal experience I'm sure, each level you go up, the demands go up a fair bit: the speed, the amount of running, the intensity at the contest, the sheer competitiveness and determination to win the ball - a good quality player just needs to be one or two percent off the mark in these areas to basically stop him from competing at the elite level. The curious thing about our game is that certain individuals coming outside of our game can be competitive in our game because they do happen to have these attributes: the hard running, the pace, the stamina, intensity at winning the footy, complete lack of concern for personal safety. The best ball skills in the world count for nought if you can't get your hands on the footy. Equally, a player is able to make a valuable contribution to the team effort, even if he barely gets a touch. That's our game. It's a very unique game.

Sorry but obviously i wouldn't know about them as I only know about AFL through the propaganda that gets blasted at me. I guess the whole Polynesian rationale must be another piece of the spin Redb always talks about then. Maybe really the conversion was simply an attempt to weaken the Broncos so the Lions can take advantage.

Yes, I understand all that about Aloisi, but in a league where $140,000 per annum is an excellent salary (i.e. 10% of what Aloisi was earning), you have a situation where blokes earning 10% of what Aloisi was earning, were delivering double or triple what Aloisi was delivering. So the exact same question arises - was he truly worth $1.4 million per annum to SFC? Did he deliver goals and assists? No. Did he help win games off his own boot? No. Did he bring the crowds in? You could almost excuse the salary if he's bringing crowds and sponsorship - but he didn't do that at all - not in the least. The thing about Folau is that he has brought in that marketing value, in an area not overly keen on aussie rules, and he has delivered it one full season out from when the club joins the comp. So one has to conclude that he has easily earned the $2.8 million, paid over 3 years, that Aloisi failed to earn over a two year period.

There are more Polynesians than Hunt and Izzy in the AFL - Rodan, Carlisle and Natanui are three. There is a definite Polynesian Pathway to the AFL, whether these two make it or not.

Aloisi played soccer in leagues like Serie A, EPL and La Liga. I think he is the only Australian player to achieve that feat. Not only that, Aloisi has played at the senior level for 14, 15 years. You can't compare that to someone like Folau who hasn't played AFL You could DEBATE that when Sydney FC signed Aloisi, he was past his best. i'm old school. I believe the best way to market yourself is on the field. But its interesting that Folaus debut happened on the same weekend where the NRL kicked off. Anyway like I said before, its a real shame Folau didn't play his whole career as a rugby league player. He may have been an immortal. Anyway when GWS make an announcement of some sort, Folau has to be there on cue, smile at the cameras, photo opportunity.

Proved right or wrong? Who cares i guess, let's just hedge our bets in case.

Going to love it when your proved on this point: "If Sheedy was actually a genius coach he might have thought of this. But Sheedy is no genius and he’ll just turn them into the typical AFL spoilers."

"The whole ploy has merely aroused the vitriol of Sydney people against the AFL, including the Swans, and actually strengthened the NRL by giving them a whole us against them marketing campaign which has broken attendance records in the first week of the season" Wow what spin. Did any of the Sydney NRL crowds in Round 1 show anything remotely above average? The bumper NZ crowd is what pushed it over. The Melbourne Storm crowd on an AFL free night was surprisingly low at 15k. Maybe some of the NRL chest beating over GWS and AFL is starting to turn Melbourne people off NRL.

But who is that interest from? AFL and NRL supporters (probably AFL supporters mainly in the southern states I would suggest) who already have Foxtel subscriptions and are already polarised by the issue. If the converts have ignited a run of Foxtel subscriptions in Western Sydney they should triple their salaries. The AFL is blundering around there but I would be interested to see what the impact in the Brisbane market will be. Watching the denuded Broncos the other night was pitiful as they were beaten by the wooden spooners. The defection of Izzy and Khunt have elft them with nobody but an over the hill Lockyer. RL fans traditionally dislike cashed up clubs poaching stars and wrecking clubs. Broncos fans are used to a virtual Origin side and really the shoe has generally been on the other foot with them but I would be interested to see how they react. manly have been loathed for 30 years for poaching half a dozen Souths and Wests players in the 70's. But as the Broncos battle it out for the wooden spoon this year who knows maybe the fans won't blame the AFL for stealing their players but will all turn onto the Lions and the star studded suns instead.

MLF Perhaps so, but they are definitely exceptions to my mind. How many equivalents and better propositions exist throughout this country? I could take you 'around the grounds' in the ACT alone and show you talent that would make these Izzy cuzzies look quite ordinary. Why this preoccupation with a few Polynesian or Kiwi exceptions ?? I do believe PNG's DNA does offer far more to our game, especially since it does not carry the burden of bias culturally towards Australia as do those Union obsessed countries. This globalist cringe that tries very hard to make our code more international is frankly a folly, especially when it is at the neglect of local grass roots. We must be very careful not to cut of our nose to spite our face in this process. Cheers

Izzy's cousins in Tonga look pretty good (and they actually took up the game before he did).

JVGO I agree with one thing you said here and i.e.Polynesians are not suited to Australian Football, albeit there are bound to be exceptions but way to few to be investing much in that respect.

JVGO the early Suns and Giants Fox ratings, for what were nothing more than practice matches, were nothing short of excellent. In fact, I think one Suns match broke the all time Fox record for an AFL match. So be assured, they have already paid back their salaries in a manner that Aloisi did not for SFC (afterall, why did they pay him $1.4 million per annum, for two years, at age 32, when their revenue is barely four times that figure - part of the thinking must have been about marketing the club). There is huge interest in the signing of Hunt and Folau and how they will ultimately go.

I simply cannot understand the rationale that Izzy has paid for himself already. The whole ploy has merely aroused the vitriol of Sydney people against the AFL, including the Swans, and actually strengthened the NRL by giving them a whole us against them marketing campaign which has broken attendance records in the first week of the season, If the poly boys fail as everyone seems to think they will that will simply make AFL a no go zone for polynesians. And i don't know what the Brisbane people think but watching the Broncos struggle the other night i was amazed by the usually star laden sides lack of stars until I realiized two of them were off playing AFL. To say that any publicity is good publicity and then complain about the vitriol of the Sydney papers and RL supporters on the Roar makes no sense at all to me. In fact I can't see anything positive that the stunt has achieved at this stage. If both RL players fail dismally in the AFL I would see it as a complete fail on every front honestly. For the scenario to succeed it seems to me that there would have to be some ongoing success on the field by Izzy and Khunt which mught capture the genuine interest of Sydney sports people. Really judging by the relative success of other sporting converts to AFL it shouldn't be so hard.