Matt - VNET Pro
Member
Everyone's thoughts on the recent news about the Melbourne Storm?
A know there is a few NRL followers on here.......interested in your opinions.
A know there is a few NRL followers on here.......interested in your opinions.
** Melbourne Storm **
- Thread starter Matt - VNET Pro
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Aido
Member
Huge ramifications...
Apparently some new this morning and there was a big plunge in betting on the wooden spoon.
Apparently some new this morning and there was a big plunge in betting on the wooden spoon.
shane75
Member
only early days yet but not lookin good,mate i am a big nrl fan and i just hope the players honestly didn't know anything about the breaches. if they knew they can get stuffed and so can the melbourne storm.if they are innocent i hope they play on for the storm and they get some decent guys to run the club.Go Parra!!!!!!!
tagMan
Member
Cheating fu$%ing bastards - kick them out of the competition. It just goes to show you can still purchase a premiership.
At least my team - the Broncos - are not stupid enough to get caught.
Watch all the elite players they have now jump ship (just like the bulldogs after 2002).
At least my team - the Broncos - are not stupid enough to get caught.
Watch all the elite players they have now jump ship (just like the bulldogs after 2002).
Matt76
Member
It seems on a pretty big scale, but if they are the only club that fiddles the books to get under the salary cap, I'll eat my hat.
shaggy
Member
Hi All
Not good for league in general and all sport that have a salary cap.I know the cap is their for a reason but you can thank super league for some of trouble because all the players are doing is chasing top dollar.As I played league till I was 28 and I have seen what super league has done to junior rugby league.This is one of main reasons that kids are playing more soccer and other sports now.Yes my boys play soccer.
No I am not a Storm supporter,but my wife is and I know a retired storm player
Shane
Not good for league in general and all sport that have a salary cap.I know the cap is their for a reason but you can thank super league for some of trouble because all the players are doing is chasing top dollar.As I played league till I was 28 and I have seen what super league has done to junior rugby league.This is one of main reasons that kids are playing more soccer and other sports now.Yes my boys play soccer.
No I am not a Storm supporter,but my wife is and I know a retired storm player
Shane
Matt76
Member
and so they should shouldn't they? Thurston and Locky are arguably the best players in the world, why shouldn't they be able to earn money that rewards their talent?
I really struggle with the whole salary cap thing, I understand why it is there, i just don't think its fair that the best players can't get personal sponsorship and earn big money like golfers, soccer players and many other sportsmen and women can get.
tagMan
Member
exactly matt - i like the idea of the 7-10 year team player being exempt from the cap.
Why should a player not be able to get 3rd party sponsorships?
They only play at the top level for a short time - and many players are left in no physical shape for the rest of their working lives..
Why should a player not be able to get 3rd party sponsorships?
They only play at the top level for a short time - and many players are left in no physical shape for the rest of their working lives..
I'm a Storm fan, I have been since they joined the comp in 98.
I'll form an opinion on this in a few weeks when hopefully all the truth comes out, I too hope the players and coaching staff had no idea, I think we will all know soon as News Ltd has ordered a forensic audit of the accounts.
I'll form an opinion on this in a few weeks when hopefully all the truth comes out, I too hope the players and coaching staff had no idea, I think we will all know soon as News Ltd has ordered a forensic audit of the accounts.
K
KraftyPg
Guest
Like Jason I've been a fan since they started and while it's a huge let down I'm holding off making any real decisions about who's to blame until all the dirty washing is out. I'd like to think the players had no idea this was happening and that it was just the fat cats at the top but if it's proven that players did know then my support for those players goes out the same window as my support for management.
I really think the NRL should have found this out earlier, I know cheats of all forms get through cracks in the system one way or another but the NRL reckon their checking system works, well five years of cheating the salary cap obviously proves it doesn't work. It's just like the whole bullshit AFL system they claim works against drug cheats, it only bloody works when they want it too. As much as it doesn't change what has come to light this week (and I'm not suggesting it should) I reckon the NRL, just like the AFL, need to have a long hard look at themselves and start treating the game like it's for the people and not their own personal nest eggs.
I see today that washissname (sorry couldn't be bothered looking it up) who was CEO when the majority of this happened has also resigned as CEO of the Melb Rebels team and that his dealings when he was in charge of St Kilda FC are also going to be scrutinised. I doubt he's the only one to blame but I guess it's a good start.
I also wonder if News Limited didn't atleast have an inkling that something was going on, as majority owners of the team isn't it their responsibility to look over everything. I know some owners take a back seat to what's happening at the coal face but that doesn't make them any less responsible for the dealings even if they hired someone else to do the grunt work.
I really think the NRL should have found this out earlier, I know cheats of all forms get through cracks in the system one way or another but the NRL reckon their checking system works, well five years of cheating the salary cap obviously proves it doesn't work. It's just like the whole bullshit AFL system they claim works against drug cheats, it only bloody works when they want it too. As much as it doesn't change what has come to light this week (and I'm not suggesting it should) I reckon the NRL, just like the AFL, need to have a long hard look at themselves and start treating the game like it's for the people and not their own personal nest eggs.
I see today that washissname (sorry couldn't be bothered looking it up) who was CEO when the majority of this happened has also resigned as CEO of the Melb Rebels team and that his dealings when he was in charge of St Kilda FC are also going to be scrutinised. I doubt he's the only one to blame but I guess it's a good start.
I also wonder if News Limited didn't atleast have an inkling that something was going on, as majority owners of the team isn't it their responsibility to look over everything. I know some owners take a back seat to what's happening at the coal face but that doesn't make them any less responsible for the dealings even if they hired someone else to do the grunt work.
K
KraftyPg
Guest
I don't mind arguing that best players bit either
But I do agree that there is no reason they shouldn't chase the top dollar, we all do it in our daily jobs whether it's putting in quotes to maximise profit, asking for a pay rise or changing jobs to get more pay. These guys are no different, apart from the money they get paid it's still a job and career to them.
Maybe both AFL and NRL should put a management cap on these organisations (not the clubs), CEO/management get paid $50K per year until they prove what they do is actually worth $50K then the only way they can get an increase is if they can fit the total management and middle management payrolls into $200K a year. No annual pay rises and no sponsorship deals (although who's sponsor a manager anyway) just working for the game and not the dollar. Guess if that was to happen the wanted ads in the papers would be forever filled with "Wanted CEO major Football code, money grabbing pricks need not apply."
dec0guy
Member
If there was a filing cabinet with 'fake' contracts (ie for less money and used when they were audited) and a second filing cabinet with 'real' contracts (ie for the real money), did the players sign both copies?
Hope I am wrong but if so the players and their managers would all have been in on the cheating.
Hope I am wrong but if so the players and their managers would all have been in on the cheating.
Matt76
Member
I don't mind arguing that best players bit either
Haha there's a can of worms right there LOL.
K
KraftyPg
Guest
The sad thing is that an argument on such a topic really does have more benefit to the game than what's actually going on with all the salary cap stuff.
Nick_T
Member
Krafty the name (scumbag) you are after is Brian Waldren. Who acording to the papers and the News Ltd chief, (Harington I think his name is) was the whole brains beind this deciept. At this stage there apears to be 5 people behind this farce, and with News Ltd now marking a formal statment to the police, these five people now face the possibility of fraud charges and possibly even jail, if the police decide to take it that far.
As a Storm suporter I am gutted by this news but at this stage I am giving the majority of those involved with the club be they player coaching staff or other areas of managemnt the benifit of the doubt. If investigations prove they were knowingly involved my opion might very well change.
As a Storm suporter I am gutted by this news but at this stage I am giving the majority of those involved with the club be they player coaching staff or other areas of managemnt the benifit of the doubt. If investigations prove they were knowingly involved my opion might very well change.
kitch76
Member
A rule is a rule and they have broken it, the better players do get payed more and so they should but I thought the players could earn more from endorsements and the like wihout affecting the clubs salary cap.
I think the punishment is fair enough, but it won't make the sides who lost premierships to them any happier. I kind of disagree with the part about them not being able to earn any points for the rest of the year. I think that they should be able to start earning points once they have fallen in line with the rules, at the very least it will make it worthwhile going to their games (both home and away). That's my uninformed opinion.
I hope none of the top players get bans, because otherwise QLD will be stuffed in State of Origin (Slater, Cronk, Smith, Ingliss - arguably 4 of QLD's best players....)
I bet they aren't the only team though, and all the others will be scurrying like mad to make sure their books are in order - or at least well hidden....haha.
I don't mind the Storm, never had anything against them, and I love the city of Melbourne, but I don't think they should hold any state of origin matches down there. They can't even fill the stadium, and most Melbourne people couldn't care less about NRL. On the flipside they could hold all 3 state of origin games on the same day in either Sydney or Brisbane and fill the stadium every game. I realise they're just trying to increase the NRL footprint but I do get quite pissed off when there are thousands of empty seats in Melbourne for state of origin, and I would give lefty to be at the game if it was in Brisbane. Luckily I got tickets this year without parting with any of the jewels.
I hope none of the top players get bans, because otherwise QLD will be stuffed in State of Origin (Slater, Cronk, Smith, Ingliss - arguably 4 of QLD's best players....)
I bet they aren't the only team though, and all the others will be scurrying like mad to make sure their books are in order - or at least well hidden....haha.
I don't mind the Storm, never had anything against them, and I love the city of Melbourne, but I don't think they should hold any state of origin matches down there. They can't even fill the stadium, and most Melbourne people couldn't care less about NRL. On the flipside they could hold all 3 state of origin games on the same day in either Sydney or Brisbane and fill the stadium every game. I realise they're just trying to increase the NRL footprint but I do get quite pissed off when there are thousands of empty seats in Melbourne for state of origin, and I would give lefty to be at the game if it was in Brisbane. Luckily I got tickets this year without parting with any of the jewels.
To add to the whole sponsorship/payment debate, it is my understanding any player can get third party sponsorship and make extra money, as long as they are not endorsing their club or the NRL while they are doing it, or the company they are doing it for is not affiliated with the NRL or their club. For example, Darren Lockyer can do an ad for a company as long as he is not endorsing or affiliating himself with Broncos or NRL in any way during the ad, and as long as the company is not affiliated with the Broncos or NRL, and that won't be included in the salary cap. But if he goes and does an ad for XXXX with a Bronco's Jersey on, then that must be included in the salary cap.
I could be wrong but that is what I understand as being the case. There may be intra-club restrictions however which prohibit their players from doing ads with any companies who are not paid up sponsors of their club.... I guess XXXX would feel a bit cheated if they paid big bucks to be a Broncos sponsor and get Darren's face on their ads, but then some other company that doesn't contribute a cent to the club can get his face on theirs.
I could be wrong but that is what I understand as being the case. There may be intra-club restrictions however which prohibit their players from doing ads with any companies who are not paid up sponsors of their club.... I guess XXXX would feel a bit cheated if they paid big bucks to be a Broncos sponsor and get Darren's face on their ads, but then some other company that doesn't contribute a cent to the club can get his face on theirs.
