Redsman - question regarding Folau

Was he the best in rugby league before converting? Are there others like him that could come over? 

Just wondering about the level of talent as he is starting to make Super 15 look like child's play.

crazy as it is, folau was very talented but IMO there are better players who could be just as good, my personal fave is a guy called greg ingliss, an aboriginie mountain of a man whose is 6ft 5 105kgs and one of the fastest guys in the NRL.
no one in the world has a better fend then ingliss, the only man who can fend people from the wrong side, by which i mean if they come from his left side he can reach across with right arm and fend them off. makes superstars of the game look like children.
hes also got a bigger boot then francois steyn without the high alt assistance.

then theres biily slatter, this guy won the australian athlete of the year twice in a row, a competition where the best atheletes from many different codes rugby, league, cricket, soccer, ironman etc.
billy the kids got a wicked turn of pace & is considered by many of the experts as possibly leagues best fullback ever.

jared hayne, jonthan thurston, are all huge players who would carve up as well in union and i would suggest u take a look at some of these guys utube clips, cos its impressive stuff.

theres been some good converts over the last few years, jason robinson, andy farrel, SBW, brad thorn, lote tiquiri, wendall sailor, matt rogers and now folau.
folaus not even close to becoming the finish product but if he can improve from the worst player in rugby in rnd2, to the best fullback in the game by rnd 12, WTF will he be able to do by this time next yeat??? o_O

 I would imagine the ARU is constantly trying to lure these fellas to Union? Perhaps Folau's success will encourage others. Is the money and fame comparable between the two codes?

My understanding is that rugby league has more domestic support, but offers little in the way of international fame and opportunity like union can with the WC and Tests?

@oimatey,
ARU did go through a patch where they tried to lure the league players, very evident with the recrutiment drive behind sailor, tiquiri and matt rogers and later on timana tahu.
but sailor got busted with coke, rogers father who was a legend of league passed away which stirred up storng emotions in rogers who then went back to league. tiquiri wasnt a team player and had serious disciplinary issues and timana tahu was a useless convert.
all these drams coupled in the ARU to try and devlop their own talent, but there was still a few recruits coming over, will chambers who had a stint in union but has gone back to league and brumbies jospeh tomane who was leaguie.

ur spot on about the domestic support and league is australias 3rd ranked sport behind the AFL (aussie rules and cricket) but during winter its the ranked No2, though with the meteoric rise of soccer in the country, the landscape looks set to change in the forseeable future.

the money in league is better then union as a whole, meaning that players on average have a better pay packet, especially with the billion dollar TV rights deal that the NRL secured, it was quite historic cos when it took into account the phone app deals it made with telstra, it was paid more money then the AFL which rubbed a lot of AFL folks the wrong way, but thats a story for another site all together.
the top stars of ARU, genia, bieber will make soe real nice money from an aussie point of view, meaning they would still make way more overseas, but compared to the top stars in league, they wont make as much as some of them, but the gap wouldnt be too crazy.

the fame and travel is IMO the biggest drawcard of union, SBW was huge in the NRL,  but he said that was nothing when he started playing union in france and to think the saffas then still hadnt even heard of him.
league players like folau who are still young will see the pros of going to unon to boost their profile, much the same way as SBW and also travel. it was folaus first trip to SA and he loved it.

the one thing that league has is state of origin, this is the best rugby league event of the year. my brother dosent like league, but he always watches the NRL grandfinal, NZ/OZ matches and state of origin.
state of origin is freaking crazy its played between QLD and NSW and makes all other rugby union and league rivalries look tame.
players who play in the same club team might have to play against each other in state of origin, but that dosent stop them from getting into massive brawls.
its the elite of the elite and IMo the best league game in the world. i would encourage u to try and watch it cos its prob the best showcae for the sport.

 Sasu - thanks for all the info. Very interesting. Didn't realize all the competition union faces in Australia. Remarkable that they are able to field the quality that they do. 

Will look up some state of origin games. Thanks !

 Greg inglis possibly the best athlete in the country. He would absolutely tear it up at rugby but unfortunately has signed for his club till 2018? From memory... He is a destroyer as suske said best fend in any code anywhere and passed him in the street in Sydney one day and he looks like a basketballer that type of physique... Apart from that u could easily form a wallaby back line with league converts and possibly have better back line than current wallabies.... A guy retired a couple of years back that would have made dan carter look average... That being Darren Lockyer. Unfortunately the mass of population here prefers rugby league as more violent, easier to understand... Played in nsw and qld public  and most cathlic schools which represent at least 80-90% of schooling.... Unfortunately this guys are spotted earlier and end up in league. Interestingly a number of quality rugby players choose to play league as money is good and absence of mid level comp in Australia. Btw cooper cronk was Australia schoolboy rugby player who is one of the finest halfbacks in league.

 Check out this....

 Cheers Redsman