Israel Folau’s conversion from rugby league to AFL has lasted longer than Mal Meninga’s switch from league to politics, but so far without markedly different results.

Folau may yet confound critics despite a dismal debut season for Greater Western Sydney, but he had better hurry up, or he might achieve about as much in the AFL as Meninga did in his 28-second foray into politics.

Folau has attracted mountains of publicity, which was always central to his multi-million dollar switch, but his numbers on the paddock make for sad reading.

In 13 matches during the just-finished home and away season, he scored only two goals and averaged a meagre three kicks a match, three handballs, fewer than two marks and fewer than two tackles.

On a four-year package worth a reported $1 million a year, that equates to half a million dollars per goal, $25,641 per kick, $24,390 per handball, $45,454 per mark and $55,555 per tackle.

“Worth every cent” is the phrase AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has applied to Folau, no doubt with his value as a promotional tool uppermost in mind.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy has consistently defended Folau, too, stressing he needs time to come to terms with the different physical, tactical, strategic and skill demands of Aussie Rules.

“He just needs games that guy,” the four-time premiership coach said.

“I’ve seen players that I’ve coached before, you give them the faith they need and if you can do that, they’ll return it in the end.”

Sheedy recalled his Essendon days to point out that Gavin Wanganeen “couldn’t find the ball” in his first few weeks at the club but won the Brownlow Medal after he moved to the backline.

Folau is the first to admit he has been on a “challenging” and “tough” learning curve.

“I guess I had to try to stay mentally strong, but I don’t read the papers and it wasn’t really a problem for me,” said the 23-year-old AFL rookie.

“I was always confident in my ability, just some games this year weren’t my best.”

It can’t be easy as a big name making your debut in a foreign code in a brand new team composed mainly of young hopefuls who win two matches in the whole season.

Folau can take heart that his final game, against North Melbourne last weekend, was his best of the season, and that Karmichael Hunt, who code-hopped a year before him, also endured a miserable first season before registering a sharp improvement this year.

He can also look to the example set by Melbourne’s Irish-born great Jim Stynes, who not only came from another code but another country.

Stynes ended up winning a Brownlow, too, but almost got the chop in his third year, when he had to beg the club for money to buy a beat-up car.

The low point of Folau’s season came last month when he got just one kick in a dispiriting performance against Melbourne in Canberra. One reporter said it looked like Folau was “sulking”.

Former Richmond great Kevin Bartlett said in a radio call: “What’s disappointing is you would think 12 months down the track he would be showing something. Today he has shown nothing. Today they have played a man short.”

Former Geelong star Cameron Mooney chimed in: “All year I’ve been telling people to back off a bit. But looking at it now, maybe Israel’s not meant for our game. His game sense is just nowhere at the moment. He’s got no idea where to go.”

Sheedy bit back. “If Israel Folau played at Hawthorn with the ball coming in with those Exocet missile passes he would probably kick 25 or 30 goals,” he said.

“But he is not playing at Hawthorn. He is playing at the youngest team in the history of the AFL. It is very difficult for that to happen, as mentioned by many great forwards on television recently – and I mean great forwards, not Mooney.”

Folau’s AFL lows must feel really low, considering the highs he experienced in league.

He won an NRL premiership as a 17-year-old, scored a record number of tries, was crowned the Dally M Rookie of the Year, played State of Origin for Queensland and became the youngest player ever to represent Australia.

Sheedy once described converting Folau into an AFL player as a “mountain” of a challenge, the biggest of his long and decorated career.

But it now looks like something that will have to rival Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.

Folau is a Christian given to airing biblical quotes on Twitter.

Sheedy may soon have to resort to prayer, too, if he is to witness Israel’s conversion on the road to Homebush.