THE NSW Waratahs are on the verge of securing a $1 million coup after emerging as the dark horse to sign Israel Folau. (Wow how stupid does the ARU have to be he is not worth 1 million in the state he is ATM)
In the wake of the collapse of Folau's NRL return with Parramatta, rugby union is in position to pounce.
Branded a money-hungry mercenary after rejecting a deal to join the Eels, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that Folau's agent Isaac Moses has been in secret talks with the Waratahs and a deal could be announced by the middle of next week.
Waratahs chief executive Jason Allen was guarded about the prospect of any deal with Folau being done, but he confirmed that the Super 15 franchise had one spot vacant on the playing roster for next season.
"We're always interested in quality players and we do have a large portion of our roster off contract in 2014, so we're talking to a number of agents on a regular basis," Allen said.
"Beyond that, our policy is that we don't make public comment about individual contracts."
For the Super 15 outfit and rugby union in Australia, Folau's signature should be seen as a major celebration and a huge money-spinning opportunity in terms of new memberships, crowd figures, television ratings and interest in the code.
But for the NRL it is an abject failure.
Parramatta coach Ricky Stuart spoke for the first time yesterday about Folau's decision to backflip on the deal.
Folau telephoned Stuart back in September to outline how miserable he was playing AFL with the GWS Giants and explain why he wanted to return to rugby league.
The former Queensland State of Origin and Test centre even went so far as to suggest his return to the NRL wasn't entirely driven by money, but a desire to play alongside his mates like Jarryd Hayne and Tim Mannah.
Stuart is now questioning Folau's ethics after the developments of the past 48 hours.
"I'd rather know today about the dishonorable characteristics of Israel than pay him all the money that we tried to secure over the past eight weeks, then find out about the way he operates," Stuart said.
"I know it's an easy throwaway line, but success is built on culture and our club is plus one in culture by not having Israel."
Power-brokers at NRL headquarters, headed by the interim chief executive Shane Mattiske and salary-cap auditor Ian Schubert, will be red-faced over the latest developments and Folau's potential move to Super rugby.
Folau arranged a meeting with Mattiske before he quit the AFL to signal his desire to return to league and a deal should have been stitched-up the day after he finished his GWS Giants commitments.
But the Eels deal was blocked by salary-cap auditor Schubert, who refused to allow Parramatta to register a contract for next season for anything less than $400,000.
Gotta love how beassie leaves out half the Article......
