Israel Folau's Progress

[PowerBug]

Stop claiming i said stuff that i didn't. Hunt , Ablett , Folau are there for the money. They still have to try so they keep their contract and get the money. Folau just won't be good enough, but he doesn't need to be good, coz he's getting $$$$$.

[Master Q]

To be fair PowerBug, money isn't the only reason Gaz moved. There was nothing more he could do at Geelong.

[RiOtChEsS]

i guess what i took from that PB is never let the truth get in the way of a good story :-X

[PowerBug]

i guess what i took from that PB is never let the truth get in the way of a good story :-X

I'm confused. What are you trying to say?

[RiOtChEsS]

He'll be a failure in his first year, worse than K.Hunt has been. Remember all he wants is the money.

these statements r brimming with fact

[hawk_88]

Stop claiming i said stuff that i didn't. Hunt , Ablett , Folau are there for the money. They still have to try so they keep their contract and get the money. Folau just won't be good enough, but he doesn't need to be good, coz he's getting $$$$$.

Not a lot of what you just said made sense.

I haver claimed you said anything you didn't.

You said Folau will be rubbish and qualified that by saying he was only there for the money.

To summarise what my points:

You have no knowledge of Folau's motivations
And assuming that is his intention, there is no proof that being paid a large sum of money would mean he would be rubbish, citing Ablett as a prime example.

Not sure I really understand how you differentiated Ablett and Hunt from Folau and I am not really sure you can.

The all have contracts that run for a long period of time and are worth a lot of money. Ablett's contract is the longest and worth the most money so using what I think is your logic above, he doesn't need to play well because he has guaranteed money for years to come.

[Ziplock]

his points were still valid, yet incomplete. For instance, GC has Gazza because he's a beast of a player, and they hired him as of such. Players like Hunt are good for a couple of years while these starting clubs are still relatively poor, they're in the best 22, but most importantly, they have publicity, they may draw new afl supporters/ followers.

They don't have to be good. They just have to avoid being incredibly terrible. Hunt isn't actually a bad player, his role may be the only one he could probably play, but nonetheless, he plays it pretty well.

[RiOtChEsS]

Zip the only thing making his points remotely valid is he is a person with an opinion...

there isnt a shred of truth its just speculation :-X

[PowerBug]

Hawk_88. Do you think that Hunt is in GC's best 22. Apart from the one game i saw him play against Port, he hasn't proven to me that he's in the side. Could the AFL have told McKenna that Hunt must play 80% of the games this year, i'm not sure, but it sounds true. Now, i'm not sure how old Folau is, but it will take 2-3 years for him to start playing well (Same as the rookies), but by then he might think of calling it quits. So he's played 2-3 years of average football while picking up $$$$, not many others get away with that.

[hawk_88]

Hawk_88. Do you think that Hunt is in GC's best 22. Apart from the one game i saw him play against Port, he hasn't proven to me that he's in the side. Could the AFL have told McKenna that Hunt must play 80% of the games this year, i'm not sure, but it sounds true. Now, i'm not sure how old Folau is, but it will take 2-3 years for him to start playing well (Same as the rookies), but by then he might think of calling it quits. So he's played 2-3 years of average football while picking up $$$$, not many others get away with that.

The problem is you are talking in pure speculation. The AFL can't tell any club who to select so whether or not it "sounds true" to you doesn't matter. Also, Hunt has been a defender and statistically he has been a very effective defender so I would have no problem saying he is in the best 22. He hasn't done a lot offensively but that hasn't been the role he has been given, however given the progress he has made they are keen to give him some midfield time. It is also worth noting that the Suns haven't had a best 22 this year, but have rotated through large amounts of players.

Folau is 21. He has years left in professional sport. You believe he will struggle, you haven't provided any reasoning behind that opinion but it is yours to have but linking his pay packet to that belief that he will preform poorly seems ridiculous. Yes if he preforms poorly he will be being paid a lot of money to play poorly but I don't see how paying him a lot of money will make him play poorly.

[PowerBug]

It's clear that i'm not winning here (and that's a fact!), so this will be it on this thread until the subject changes. Folau is paid money, therefore the ambition isn't as high for let's say, Zac Smith, who needs to earn the money and could be drafted by another club.

Professional sports players love the sport(s) they play, but it's their day job, and they do their day job coz they get paid well. And Folau won't be sacked after 1 year because it's publicity, so he doesn't have to do his day job as well as others.

[hawk_88]

That is true only if you assume his motivation is ourely to earn money.

[AFEV]

Must agree with Hawk here. Although it may be a fair assumption he is playing for money if you knew what he was getting payed.
Zac Smith only started playing a few years ago, he used to be a soccer player. Now he is a beast in a position where first year players usually struggle. Who's to say Folau can't do something similar?

[eski_liddr]

You are still making an assumption. He may very well have wanted a challenge.

I don't see how he is any different to GAJ or any other player that went to the Gold Coast.

And even if the money was the primary factor, why does that mean he wont take u the challenge and strive for success? As a professional sportsman he is most likely a very competitive person and enjoys pushing himself to the limit physically. Given his athletic ability and physical size I don't see why he can't be a huge success.

Well said, we've all seen it (if you watched Melb storm or the NRL) ....his a completely different person to HUNT (in body, athleticism, jump and age)... I know its going to be a success and I cant wait to see that. It might be in his last contracted year but will definitely be the catalyst for further growth of our sport. (and recruits from other codes)

[RiOtChEsS]

Has been kicking a few goals and looks to be a smooth mover, may even pick him up for bench next year :P