Israel Folau gets his wish for return to rugby league after being cleared by Catalans

Israel Folau will make his return to rugby league on Saturday for the Southport Tigers alongside his brothers John and Eni.

Israel Folau is one step closer to returning to Australian rugby league

Israel Folau has a clearance and Clive Palmer has his way. Folau, having tried and failed on two occasions to secure a return to rugby league, finally got his wish on Tuesday when he received a clearance from French club Catalans and had his contract registered by the Queensland Rugby League.

He will make his return on Saturday for the Southport Tigers alongside his brothers John and Eni in the Gold Coast A grade competition. It’s a far cry from his halcyon days, when he travelled the world as a superstar with the Wallabies.

But anything will do at the moment for the dual international given Folau has been in limbo since returning to Australia after a stint with Catalans.

St George Illawarra tried to sign the dual international before they were frightened off by a backlash from sponsors. The QRL then blocked his return when they were warned they were at risk of losing of corporate supporters.

Palmer came to the rescue, handing Folau a $250,000 contract and vowing to back him with every dollar in his armoury. He launched legal action against the QRL but it was the decision to pay a compensation fee to Catalans – believed to be about $50,000 – that cleared the way for his comeback.

“Israel remains one of the best players in Queensland and Australia and his absence from the game has been too long,” Palmer said on Tuesday.

“All he wants to do is play with his brothers and enjoy the game he loves. He only wants to participate in the greatest game of all.”

In a statement from Catalans, chairman Bernard Guasch said: “Israel has been great with us in 2020 both on and off the field and we wanted to facilitate the negotiations to reach an agreement.

“He told us his desire to play alongside his two brothers and we didn‘t want to prevent him. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career.”

It is understood the legal action against the QRL remains on foot, although the expectation is that it will be dropped now that Palmer has his way.

The only issue will be whether Palmer wants to fight the QRL’s decision to clear Folau to play in the Gold Coast A grade competition alone – he will need to make further representations if, as expected, he wants to push on and play in the QRL, and possibly NRL.

The parties also need to reach an agreement over costs.

“As previously stated, the QRL board has carefully considered all aspects of the registration request, in line with its current rules and processes,” the QRL said in a statement.

“The QRL made clear from the outset that Mr Folau would be registered upon completion of the registration process, including the obtaining of a release from his previous overseas club, as per the rules of the game which apply to all players.

“This has today been forthcoming with authorisation from the game’s international body, meaning the QRL has now been able to finalise his registration with the Southport Tigers.”