Six NRL clubs start circling Israel Folau

NRL clubs are circling Israel Folau but their success might hinge on how badly his brand has been tarnished.

Israel Folau at Waratahs training in Sydney yesterday. Picture: Toby Zerna

As many as six NRL clubs are believed to be circling Israel Folau but their ability to make a competitive offer that would tempt him to return to the sport could hinge on how badly his reputation has suffered in the wake of his anti-gay comments on social media.

Folau has flirted with a return to rugby league before. Not once, but twice. Nearly six years ago, when he walked out on the AFL and Greater Western Sydney, Parramatta tabled a deal worth a reported $3 million over four years, the offer coming after a protracted period of haggling between the Eels, the NRL and Folau’s management.

He rejected the deal and instead signed with the Australian Rugby Union. Rugby league looked to have missed its chance, that view reinforced three years ago when there were rumblings again. Folau once again inked a deal with the ARU.

And here we are again. Folau is back on the open market and NRL clubs have one again taken the bait despite the furore created by his recent proclamations on social media, in which he claimed gay people would go to hell unless they repent.

Given the fallout from his meeting with Rugby Australia powerbrokers earlier this week, this could be the best chance yet for rugby league to get its hands back on an athlete who played for both state and country as an 18-year-old.

There are hurdles to jump, the most obvious and significant being money. Any offer in rugby league for Folau is likely to require third party deals to prop up what he could be paid under the salary cap.

There would be opportunities within the game, most obviously with the NRL’s marquee sponsorship fund of $1.5m. Folau would be an ideal candidate to join the 32-man list, but the most he could earn from that pot of gold would be $250,000.

Other third party opportunities are likely to hinge on how his brand has been tarnished in the wake of his comments on social media. Folau commands a pay packet in excess of $1m and as such, the widely-held view has been with that price tag, a move to fullback would be in order.

Yet the recruitment guru who discovered Folau has questioned whether he could handle the modern role and suggested his future more likely lies at right centre.

“Being out of the game for so long, I don’t know if he would have the motor to play fullback in the modern game,” former Melbourne and Sydney Roosters recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan said. “He would have to be satisfied with being the best centre in the game. It would take him an off-season and a couple of rounds to get back to his absolute peak. Within a month he would be the best right centre in the world.”

Asked whether clubs could justify spending massive money on a centre, O’Sullivan said: “Yes. When you talk about Folau as a centre, you’re talking about the elite of the elite.

“You’re coming from a place he can score so many tries and have such an impact on the game — he delivers everything you want from a footballer.”

O’Sullivan also dismissed questions over Folau’s character in the wake of his recent problems.

“They don’t know him,” he said. “He is a beautiful soul.”

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg told this paper last month he would happy to talk to Folau if the dual international was genuinely interested in a return to rugby league and it is understood his future was discussed at a chief executives meeting on the Gold Coast over the past two days.

Few clubs would have the cap room to fit Folau, although the most recent off-season illustrated that officials can find money when they need it.

The Roosters made room for Cooper Cronk. Newcastle accommodated Mitchell Pearce. Penrith and Cronulla swapped James Maloney and Matt Moylan.

If a club wants Folau badly enough, they will make the space, that in itself likely to cause a ripple effect which could lead to significant player movement once again.

The contenders would appear obvious. The Eels have tried before and could try again, although that would likely mean casting Jarryd Hayne adrift at the end of the season.

Parramatta could accommodate Folau at right centre, although the sense is that their more immediate concern is a forward pack which has struggled to create space for their halves. With losses have come rumours, one of the more spicy that five-eighth Corey Norman could be on the outer and up for grabs. If Norman finds a new home, money won’t be an issue for Parramatta.

Folau’s former club Melbourne are likely to lose Billy Slater at the end of the year as he slips into retirement, opening a vacancy at fullback. Thanks to Slater and Cameron Smith, Storm players have more money tied up in third party deals than any club in the NRL. Smith is off-contract too and yet to reveal his future plans. If both were to retire, the Storm would be flushed with funds.

Newcastle have the money and desperately need a centre. Penrith are keeping money in the vault for Nathan Cleary, but he appears more and more likely to join his father at Wests Tigers at the end of next season. Folau would help ease some of that pain.

The Bulldogs are in dire need of something but have salary cap problems that could take years to fix. Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan has already put his club in the mix but the wildcard could be Brisbane, although they are well stocked for right centres.

Folau has maintained a relationship with people at the club and thrived there before he left for rugby union. Interested parties won’t be in short supply.

Finding the money to offer Folau a home appears an infinitely greater issue.