NSW Waratahs Israel Folau is desperate to play finals for the first time since 2009

NSW Waratahs star Israel Folau is desperate to play finals in 2014 not just for the team and its fans, but also to end a personal playoffs drought.

FOR SATURDAY'S PAPER -Waratah's star Israel Folau ready for Saturday's clash against the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium .Picture Gregg Porteous (MUST MENTION ANZ STADIUM IN THE CAPTION )

THERE has to be a moment when Israel Folau, one of the greatest footballers we’ve ever seen, knew he belonged on the big stage.

“There was; it was my first year, it was the end of 2007 when I got the call-up to the Kangaroos squad,” Folau says.

“A few people weren’t too sure if I had earned my position within the team, and I like a bit of a challenge.

“I remember I wanted to prove a lot of people wrong.”

He was the youngest man ever chosen to represent Australia’s national rugby league team, breaking the record by legend Brad Fittler, and the 18-year-old shone with two tries and a sterling performance in a record 58-0 rout of New Zealand.

“In that game, I ended up playing well, and I was 18. From that time onwards throughout my career, I’ve wanted to perform in big games,” Folau says.

“That’s what I love. As anyone who plays professional sport, that is where you want to make your mark, on the big stage.

“I am just that type of person, I want to lift to the occasion.”

Which today, seven years and two codes later, brings him to ANZ Stadium where the NSW Waratahs host the Brumbies in one of the most important games in the franchise’s history.

Victory against last year’s runners-up would virtually assure NSW of claiming the Australian conference, and put them one step closer to hosting their first Super Rugby semi-final since 2008.

“I haven’t had finals experience for a long time, and I’m sure it sits in the back of the boys’ minds, especially those who have been at the Tahs for a long time,” says Folau, who last featured in playoffs on September 26, 2009 when his Broncos were smashed by former club Melbourne 40-10 for the NRL grand final spot against Parramatta.

Winning their remaining three regular-season games would mark significant milestones for NSW; today against the Brumbies would claim the Australian conference, next week against the Highlanders would seal a top-two spot and a guaranteed home semi, and the week after against Queensland would yield first place, their first minor premiership.

“We’ve mentioned it once, and the boys know how big the next three weeks are,” Folau says.

“The last three games are a tough run. We know what’s at the end of it but we can’t look too far ahead.”

More than any other player, it is Folau, 25, who shoulders the hopes of NSW rugby fans desperate to see their team finally win the competition after 18 years of near-misses, disappointment and frustration.

Yet he rarely misses a beat when the thermostat hits “furnace”; whether it be in league grand finals or State of Origin, or rugby Tests against the British & Irish Lions or All Blacks.

What is even more remarkable and rare is that in his heavily-scrutinised career across league, AFL and rugby, Folau has never once been involved in an off-field incident.

“My parents have helped me a lot with my upbringing, I don’t want to get into trouble, ever, during my career,” he says.

“I know there are a lot of people out there who look up to myself.

“I feel like my job is to inspire a lot of people, especially the young generation coming through.

“Getting in trouble isn’t the right way about it.

“Through my football, and most importantly off the field as a person, I want to provide that opportunity to young people who watch sport or admire what I do as a football player.

“I don’t think about it as any pressure, this is just what comes with the territory of being a professional sportsperson.

“I just live life, I am enjoying it. If anything I am pretty lucky compared to most people, so I am grateful for what I have.”

What he doesn’t have – yet – is the Super Rugby title that has also eluded every Waratahs player before him.

What will help him win one, Folau believes, is the self-belief he conjured after his league Test debut in 2007, and two years of sufferance with AFL’s GWS Giants.

“Most of that period when I was playing AFL I wanted to prove people wrong, and it was a massive challenge I’ve got to say,” Folau exhales, leaning back in his chair at the office of Waratahs sponsors CMC Markets.

“It was more mental. It weighed me down a lot, going out on weekends and trying to perform.

“Everything built up over the time I was there; friends and family are putting pressure on you too.

“Everyone has an opinion, but you can’t please everyone, so you just do things that make you happy.

“After leaving that code and joining the Waratahs, it was a fresh start, something new.

“I was enjoying the rugby, and it released a lot of pressure. I wanted to do things on my terms, I wanted to do the best for me, not anyone else, so there was no pressure on my end.

“It was after that AFL period where I just learned I don’t have to do things for anyone, it’s about me.

“I remember the first month of joining the Tahs, the feeling of getting the ball and taking the line on and scoring tries, it just clicked, it was second nature to me.

“Once I got that groove back, any criticism didn’t even matter.

“The couple of years that I was with the Giants helped me with my physical development, but also mentally.

“If I look back at my career so far, that was the hardest time.

“Joining the Tahs, I felt like a little kid again because I was away from something that I was used to for a couple of years.

“It brought that hunger back.”

Originally published as NSW Waratahs Israel Folau is desperate to play finals for the first time since 2009