1. Israel Folau then played with the Brisbane Broncos from 2009 to 2010.
68 Facts About Israel Folau
1. 2.
In 2020, Israel Folau played for the French rugby league team the Catalans Dragons in the Super League.
3.
In 2011, Israel Folau joined the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League and played for two seasons.
4.
In December 2012, Israel Folau announced he was to switch codes again, this time for rugby union, and signed a one-year contract with the Waratahs.
5.
In 2022, Israel Folau switched allegiance in order to represent Tonga after World Rugby announced its new eligibility laws.
6.
Israel Folau subsequently commenced proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and a confidential settlement between the two parties was released on 4 December 2019.
7.
Israel Folau was born in Minto, New South Wales, to Tongan parents, Eni and Amelia.
8.
Israel Folau attended Lurnea Public School and Westfields Sports High School before his family moved to Brisbane, Queensland, in 2004, after his father obtained work there.
9.
In Brisbane, Israel Folau attended Marsden State High School from where he was selected for the Queensland Schoolboys squad in the Australian Under-15 Championships and represented the Australian Schoolboys team in 2006.
10.
Israel Folau played several seasons of junior rugby league at the Goodna Eagles in Goodna.
11.
At the Australian championships, Israel Folau was spotted by a Melbourne Storm scout and was invited to play his junior football with the Storm's feeder club at the time, Queensland Cup team, the Norths Devils.
12.
Israel Folau won a premiership while playing with Norths and became the first player to represent Queensland Under-19's while still only 16 years old.
13.
From playing with the Queensland Schoolboys and the Devils, in 2006, while in year 12 at Marsden State High School where his classmates were Chris Sandow and Antonio Winterstein, Israel Folau was selected to play in the Australian Schoolboys squad that toured Wales, England and France.
14.
Israel Folau was strong, representing Australia and at the end of the tour was awarded the Australian Secondary School Rugby Leagues Award for the best back of the tournament.
15.
Israel Folau was just 17 years of age when he made his debut in the 2007 NRL season.
16.
Israel Folau's debut came earlier than his coach Craig Bellamy intended, and he was named as a replacement on the right wing for injured Steve Turner.
17.
Israel Folau started in the side's first match of the 2007 NRL season, against the Wests Tigers, and became the youngest player ever to play for the Storm.
18.
Israel Folau's try tally saw him the equal top-try scorer for the 2007 regular season alongside North Queensland Cowboys full-back Matt Bowen.
19.
Israel Folau capped off a magnificent first season in the NRL by winning the 2007 Dally M Rookie of the Year Award and being a part of the successful 2007 Melbourne Storm premiership side, that only lost three matches all year.
20.
On his international debut, Israel Folau became the youngest ever player to represent Australia at 18 years and 194 days old, passing the previous record set by Brad Fittler in 1990.
21.
In 2008, after Melbourne and New South Wales representative Matt King announced he would be leaving the Storm to play with the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, Israel Folau filled the void as the starting centre for Melbourne.
22.
Israel Folau was then selected in the starting squad as a winger in the Queensland State of Origin Team for game I of the 2008 Series.
23.
On 21 May 2008, Israel Folau made his debut for Queensland at ANZ Stadium Sydney.
24.
Israel Folau retained his position for game II at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
25.
Israel Folau contributed one of the Maroons' four tries in the 30-point win over the Blues, levelling the series.
26.
Israel Folau had been a part of his second minor premiership in as many years with the Melbourne Storm and played in his second consecutive grand final where they lost in a rematch of last years final to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
27.
In October 2008, Israel Folau was chosen to play for the Kangaroos in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
28.
Israel Folau received the Rugby League International Federation 2008 Rookie of the Year award.
29.
Israel Folau was a major signing for the Broncos at the same time several key players, as well as coach Wayne Bennett left the club.
30.
Israel Folau continued his try-scoring feats averaging a try-a-game by Round 10.
31.
Israel Folau was selected for Australia in the one-off test match against New Zealand on 8 May 2009.
32.
Israel Folau played in Game 2, scoring a try, but missed Game 3 due to injury.
33.
Controversially despite signing mid-year with rival code the AFL, Israel Folau was selected and played in all three Origin games in 2010.
34.
Israel Folau continued to produce try-scoring form scoring 17 tries from 16 matches with the Brisbane Broncos but his rugby league career to date was cut shorter than anticipated as the Brisbane Broncos failed to make the finals series for the first time in over a decade.
35.
Israel Folau was overlooked to represent Australia in the Four Nations tournament and was dis-allowed by the Australian Rugby League to play for Tonga in a warm-up match against Samoa.
36.
In January 2020, Israel Folau signed a one-year deal to play league for the Catalans Dragons.
37.
Israel Folau began his Australian rules football playing career in the North East Australian Football League playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
38.
Israel Folau made his AFL debut in the Greater Western Sydney Giants first match in the competition, against the Sydney Swans in Round 1,2012.
39.
At the start of the season, Israel Folau was chosen to be one of 10 players announced by the AFL as that year's Multicultural Ambassadors.
40.
Israel Folau gave up on his AFL career at the end of the 2012 season, with limited success on-field.
41.
In December 2012, it was announced that Israel Folau, changing sports again, had joined Australian rugby union team the Sydney-based New South Wales Waratahs for the 2013 Super Rugby season, announcing his ambition to play for the Australia national rugby team.
42.
Israel Folau said he welcomed the advice and mentorship of dual international and former Waratah Lote Tuqiri regarding the switch between league and union.
43.
Israel Folau scored two tries in a pre-season match against Australian conference rivals, the Melbourne Rebels.
44.
Israel Folau's debut try for the Waratahs came in the forty-seventh minute, and was the first Waratahs try of the match.
45.
However, Israel Folau's efforts were not enough for New South Wales to finish in a finals position.
46.
However, Israel Folau did not play for the club due to injury and the relegation of the team to the Japanese second division.
47.
Israel Folau has been awarded the Rugby Australia John Eales Medal, the Wallabies' Player of the Year recognition, a record three times, in 2014,2015 and 2017.
48.
On 5 July 2021 it was reported that Israel Folau had switched back to play rugby union for Japanese club Shining Arcs Tokyo-Bay Urayasu.
49.
On his return to rugby union, Israel Folau scored a double against Kobelco Kobe Steelers in round one of the 2022 Japan Rugby League One in Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium.
50.
Israel Folau is the fourth highest try scoring Australian international player, behind Adam Ashley-Cooper, Chris Latham and David Campese.
51.
Israel Folau made his international debut for Tonga in the first round of the 2022 Pacific Nations Cup against hosts Fiji.
52.
Israel Folau was taken off after approximately a half-hour of play having obtained a hamstring injury.
53.
In 2009, Israel Folau was offered sponsorships by Adidas and Powerade and, in 2013, by Goodman Fielder.
54.
Israel Folau is the older brother of John Folau, who is a rugby union player.
55.
On 23 October 2016, Israel Folau announced his engagement to New Zealand netball player Maria Tuta'ia.
56.
Israel Folau grew up as a Mormon, but moved to being an active member of the Assemblies of God Christian denomination in 2011.
57.
Israel Folau has credited his relationship with God as a reason for his athletic success in the NRL, AFL and rugby union.
58.
In March 2015, Israel Folau, playing for the New South Wales Waratahs Rugby team, told ABC radio that there was no room for homophobia in the game, amidst allegations of homophobic sledging originating from a player on his team, and denied there was homophobia in his club.
59.
Later on that day on his personal Twitter account, Israel Folau posted a screenshot of the news headline that read: "Tasmania becomes first Australian jurisdiction to make gender optional on birth certificates".
60.
Israel Folau then tweeted: 'The devil has blinded so many people in this world.
61.
Ahead of his disciplinary hearing, Israel Folau expressed a determination to continue playing rugby, while still holding to his beliefs.
62.
In November 2019, Israel Folau was criticised following his preaching in regards to same-sex marriage and abortion.
63.
Israel Folau was found to have breached Rugby Australia's code of conduct, and later that month he lost a sponsorship deal with ASICS.
64.
On 6 June 2019, Israel Folau launched legal proceedings with the Fair Work Commission against Rugby Australia and the Waratahs under section 772 of the Fair Work Act, which makes it unlawful to terminate employment on the basis of religion.
65.
Israel Folau was criticised for seeking crowdfunded money despite accumulating a multi-million dollar fortune.
66.
On 1 August 2019, Israel Folau launched legal action in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, against RA and NSW Rugby for unlawful termination on the basis of religion, breach of contract and restraint of trade.
67.
Israel Folau sought an apology, compensation, penalties and the right to play rugby union again.
68.
In December 2019, the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW decided to investigate a complaint that Israel Folau had engaged in homosexuality vilification.