Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett are about to share a common fate. From next season, neither is likely to ever get to benefit from just how good Israel Folau may become.
They will instead be, for the next four years at least, on the receiving end of the hulking 19-year-old centre's wrecking-ball performances. Bellamy will lose his Melbourne Storm back-line star to Brisbane at the end of this season after Folau accepted a massive deal to return to Queensland, while Bennett, the Broncos' coach since 1988, takes over at St George Illawarra next year.
The scary thing for Bellamy is that he knows that Folau will become even better than the player who will run onto Mount Smart Stadium today for the Storm's clash with the New Zealand Warriors.
"You're getting me depressed here," said Bellamy with a wry grin. "… He's a better player now (than earlier this season) and I can't see any reason why he won't keep getting better and better, which is a pretty scary thought for us, too, because we're going to be playing against him."
Folau has progressively added to his game through the 18 months that he has been in first grade.
He first made his mark on the game with his explosive running that brought back memories of league legend Mal Meninga, then he significantly tightened his defence and can now make his opponent really feel his tackles, while his AFL-grade leaping and marking has helped him score numerous spectacular tries. But now, as his effort against the Dragons showed last Monday night at Olympic Park, he can set up tries as spectacularly as he scores them.
Folau, who started his career on the wing for the Storm, said he had worked hard to improve his passing game since moving to the centres midway through last season. He often asks his teammates to help him with drills designed to add that dimension to his game and he has been pleased with the results.
"I've been doing different sort of passes, one hand-flick passing, quick normal passing with quick hands, with a defender running at me and it worked pretty good last week with that combination with me and Zapper (Steve Turner)," he said.
Former Test centre Gene Miles has paid close attention to Folau over the past two years as a Queensland state-of-origin selector, with the teenager making his Maroons debut on the wing this year. Miles, who also played alongside the man Folau is most often compared to, Maroons coach Meninga, said the Melbourne star was a throwback to the 1980s — where his newly acquired skill would not have been out of place.
"He's very similar to back in my day and Mal's day, when we were all pretty big guys and strength and offloading had a lot to do with it," Miles said.
That is with the obvious exception: "But mate, we weren't able to get off the ground like Izzy does, I can assure you. That's something that is part of the game these days and he's just unstoppable out there."
Miles said Folau's potential was mind-boggling and would only be enhanced by slotting into a Brisbane back line that contained Darren Lockyer, Justin Hodges and Karmichael Hunt.
Bellamy said while Folau had a quiet personality, he had the confidence needed to be successful under the guidance of Brisbane's new coach for next year, Ivan Henjak.