Folau joins Team GWS

Team GWS today announced that Israel Folau will be returning to his former home in Western Sydney to join the new Australian Football League team.

Team GWS, which will join the AFL in 2012 as the competition’s 18th club and the first to be based in Western Sydney, had successfully attracted Folau to join the side and also to work with the AFL to market and promote the sport across Greater Western Sydney.

Folau made his debut in the NRL with the Melbourne Storm in 2007 as a 17-year-old and was the youngest person selected for Australia as a Kangaroo in the game’s history, playing eight Test matches and six State of Origin matches over the last two seasons. He also played in Melbourne Storm’s premiership winning side in 2007.

GWS Chief Executive Officer Dale Holmes said he was thrilled that an elite athlete such as Folau would join the young team and was excited by the 195cm, 100kg player’s ability to transition into an AFL player.

He said Folau had taken part in an AFL trial some weeks ago and that Team GWS was satisfied that his elite natural skill, agility and athleticism, combined with his ability to learn and be coached, demonstrated that he could follow the likes of Daniel Merrett, Tadgh Kennelly and Kurt Tippett, in changing codes and succeeding as an AFL footballer.

Mr Holmes said the AFL and Team GWS were delighted that an elite athlete on the national stage wanted to be part of the building of a new team that would represent Greater Western Sydney.

“Israel and his family are originally from the west of Sydney, coming from Minto, and one of the attractions for Israel was the challenge of playing another code but also with a new team that was setting up in Western Sydney,” Holmes said.

“It was our administration’s view, and that of Kevin Sheedy as our senior coach, that an athlete of Israel’s height, skill, pace and power who wanted to come to our game was an exciting mix, and we want to give him the opportunity to succeed in our sport. And we believe we have the coaching staff who have a proven track record of turning good athletes into AFL footballers.

“Israel has strong links to this community and can also be a beacon for his community, who may not have considered our game as their first-choice sport as Team GWS builds over the next 18 months to become part of the AFL,” he said.

Mr Holmes said that Israel had signed for four years and that much of his the component of his football contract was performance-based. A significant part of this contract was for working with AFL NSW/ACT and the AFL to market and promote the club and the code to a wider audience.

“Israel will need to develop as a player as he comes in to the AFL and I have no doubt he will do that. He is very much the right man for our community in western Sydney, as a sportsman that is respected and admired by the people in this region.

Folau said he was delighted that GWS was prepared to commit to him, as it built its club towards entry into the AFL.

“My family and my community in Western Sydney are extremely important to me, and I am pleased to be playing for a new team in Western Sydney,” Folau said.

“I have watched Karmichael Hunt, and his decision to move into the AFL with Gold Coast, and we spoke with the AFL about a trial because I believed that I can also make the change and be a good AFL player.

“I have much to learn around the tactics of the game, but I am determined, I am a hard worker and know that there is a lot to do but I am determined to succussed as an AFL footballer.

Team GWS Head Coach Kevin Sheedy said he was excited by the athletic package that Folau offered, and it was now his job to mould his raw attributes into an AFL player.

“My whole coaching career, my time in this game, has been about finding talent, developing talent, and building our game,” Sheedy said.

“What we have in front of us is a 195cm power athlete who we know can run, jump and catch and is a star at the game he grew up with. He’s determined to be the best he can be and now we’ve got to use the tools he has and add what we know about the game and develop him, just like our game has developed Irishmen like Jimmy Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly and other current players who come from different sporting backgrounds, such as Sam Gilbert, Setanta O’Hailphin, Dean Brogan and Tom Williams.

Sheedy said development coach Alan McConnell, who had a long-standing career developing elite young talent within the AFL system, would be the primary person to work with Folau now that he would be joining Team GWS.

AFL General Manager Market Development David Matthews said Folau would also work with the AFL and AFL NSW to promote and develop the game over the next three years, and this development work would be the substantive base for his football income.

“Today’s announcement is about an elite sportsman coming to our game,” Matthews said.

“As Kevin has said, our game has had successful players come from overseas and also from other sports in Australia, such as Dean Brogan as a basketball, who have competed at an elite level in another sport.

“We commend Team GWS for being prepared to give Israel an opportunity to play and we wish him the best.”