Folau the market leader

Israel Folau, rugby league's brightest young star, is switching codes to join the AFL. Some people say it's a great move, others say it will never work.

My take? This is a piece of marketing genius.

Folau is 21 years old, 195cm and 102kg. He has won an NRL premiership and State of Origin. He averages a try a game with Brisbane. He is Polynesian and comes from the Western Sydney area where he will play AFL. That's all useful marketing stuff.

But I think the real genius will come when the Greater Western Sydney team enters the AFL in 2012 and Folau plays. Kevin Sheedy, the master marketer, will play him in defence. Here's the pitch:

"Folau vs Riewoldt! Folau vs Jonathan Brown! FOLAU VS BUDDY FRANKLIN!!"

Who can run faster, jump higher, tackle harder? The AFL's superstars taking on the hardness of rugby league's Man of Steel. I can see it on the back pages of the Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald right now. It will be the chance for rugby league fans to see how the best of them does taking on AFL players at their own game. Any loss for Folau can be written off as inexperience. Any win would be huge.

You see, you don't get those one-on-one duels in rugby league. The best players never square off against each other. In AFL it doesn't happen as much as it used to, but there is still that element of "superstar vs superstar". The fans love it. The media love it. Coaches don't love it as much, but sometimes they'll pander to it. Sheedy knows how to build a buzz. He will do it with Folau.

So yes it's a lot of money. But as a former sports journo, I can see the back page stories filling up. I can see the opinion pieces writing themselves. I can see the letters pages filling. I can see the website views rising. It's all the stuff the AFL desperately needs as it tries to build a following among kids in NSW.