NRL Storm

[Matty Norwood]

Players from the storm should still play at a high level as at least 7 will be chasing representative jerseys in the coming months.

if it was me, and this was the only thing worth playing for, it would be very hard to get motivated.

most of the storm are queenslanders.Trust me its big motivation for them. Origin football is still regarded as the highest form of the game.

[Adam Hancock]

I had to get in on this at some point.

First and foremost, the NRL completely over-reacted in this instance.
Their investigation into Melbourne Storm and the salary-cap was only a few weeks old. A leak from their executive office resulted in over $40,000 being bet on Storm to get the wooden spoon in 2010 (9.30am Thurs Morning). This in turn resulted in betting agencies suspending betting on the market (they are not fools and recently Storm captain Cameron Smith came under scrutiny over a contract with Fox Sports) and consequentially forced the NRL into playing their hand. It was as a result of this that the knee-jerk reaction was made to basically null and void the Storm of a worth while 2010 campaign.

I am glad Matty mentioned the "carry over" points from the NRL judiciary, because I also speculated a "hit'n'run" campaign for the remainder of the season would be the best option, thus giving players a clean slate entering the 2011 season. Also it would be good to see that record 40-0 Grand Final white wash in 2008 removed from the pages of history.

Elaborating on what Matty said, some of the most decorated Rugby League players in this country say that despite their club grand final successes, nothing compared to the thrill of State of Origin footy. The only saving grace here is that the NRL has no power to strip the Storm players of the right to partake in these games (God knows they probably would if they could however the ARL has complete jurisdiction over these games as well international test matches). But still, I would be very surprised if the bookies were taking bets on ANY Storm games, as they hold not much more relevance than a Shane Warne Celebrity 20/20!!

With this year being the launch of a custom built rectangular stadium in Melbourne, this was the last thing the club needed. The NRL have virtually signed the death warrant for the Melbourne Storm.

Over the course of its existence, Melbourne Storm, as a business, has yet to report an annual taking of anything greater than NEGATIVE 2.2 million dollars. Recap: the most financially successful year in Storm's history was a LOSS of AU$2,200,000!!!!

The 'N" in NRL apparently stands for "National", and sadly it seems that the governing body of Rugby League in Australia have pushed themselves even further away from justifying that "N" being there in the name of the competition.....

I do not condone the breach of the salary cap, it is the only thing that keeps us from being an overly boring and dull "four horse race" like European Soccer supporters are sadly burdened with, but the clear over-reaction of the NRL on this matter will see several players not only leave the Storm in coming weeks, but the Australian Rugby League system altogether. Odds on there are agents talking to overseas clubs as I type this post.......

[krunchie]

I had to get in on this at some point.

First and foremost, the NRL completely over-reacted in this instance.
Their investigation into Melbourne Storm and the salary-cap was only a few weeks old. A leak from their executive office resulted in over $40,000 being bet on Storm to get the wooden spoon in 2010 (9.30am Thurs Morning). This in turn resulted in betting agencies suspending betting on the market (they are not fools and recently Storm captain Cameron Smith came under scrutiny over a contract with Fox Sports) and consequentially forced the NRL into playing their hand. It was as a result of this that the knee-jerk reaction was made to basically null and void the Storm of a worth while 2010 campaign.



I am glad Matty mentioned the "carry over" points from the NRL judiciary, because I also speculated a "hit'n'run" campaign for the remainder of the season would be the best option, thus giving players a clean slate entering the 2011 season. Also it would be good to see that record 40-0 Grand Final white wash in 2008 removed from the pages of history.

Elaborating on what Matty said, some of the most decorated Rugby League players in this country say that despite their club grand final successes, nothing compared to the thrill of State of Origin footy. The only saving grace here is that the NRL has no power to strip the Storm players of the right to partake in these games (God knows they probably would if they could however the ARL has complete jurisdiction over these games as well international test matches). But still, I would be very surprised if the bookies were taking bets on ANY Storm games, as they hold not much more relevance than a Shane Warne Celebrity 20/20!!

With this year being the launch of a custom built rectangular stadium in Melbourne, this was the last thing the club needed. The NRL have virtually signed the death warrant for the Melbourne Storm.

Over the course of its existence, Melbourne Storm, as a business, has yet to report an annual taking of anything greater than NEGATIVE 2.2 million dollars. Recap: the most financially successful year in Storm's history was a LOSS of AU$2,200,000!!!!

The 'N" in NRL apparently stands for "National", and sadly it seems that the governing body of Rugby League in Australia have pushed themselves even further away from justifying that "N" being there in the name of the competition.....

I do not condone the breach of the salary cap, it is the only thing that keeps us from being an overly boring and dull "four horse race" like European Soccer supporters are sadly burdened with, but the clear over-reaction of the NRL on this matter will see several players not only leave the Storm in coming weeks, but the Australian Rugby League system altogether. Odds on there are agents talking to overseas clubs as I type this post.......

Nice post

i am not going even begin to argue any of these points you have brought up as it is quite obvious you have a good knowldege of the system and your team, much more than me im not even a NRL fan i only watch origin each year.

However i do disagree that this was an over reaction, from the evidence put foward by the NRL this was a very elaborate deliberate system being employed by the storm over a period of 5 years using 2 sets of books to get away with it, from what i have read it seems they only breached the cap by 1m over the past 4 years (250k per year approx) but this year were in breach by a whopping 700k so they obviously werent slowing this deliberate system down.

To see this sort of system employed over such a extended period of time gives me abslolutely no sympathy for the storm what so ever. They are a Bunch of cheats and thats that.
Any punishment handed to them is deserved and if they do manage to survive as a club good luck to them, but i also belive that the punishment is such that it has made sure they wont.

[maccatak11]

However i do disagree that this was an over reaction, from the evidence put foward by the NRL this was a very elaborate deliberate system being employed by the storm over a period of 5 years using 2 sets of books to get away with it, from what i have read it seems they only breached the cap by 1m over the past 4 years (250k per year approx) but this year were in breach by a whopping 700k so they obviously werent slowing this deliberate system down.

To see this sort of system employed over such a extended period of time gives me abslolutely no sympathy for the storm what so ever. They are a Bunch of cheats and thats that.
Any punishment handed to them is deserved and if they do manage to survive as a club good luck to them, but i also belive that the punishment is such that it has made sure they wont.

This is a great post krunchie and i agree here. This penalty is in NO way an overreaction, in fact the fine recieved of $500k seems quite small. (The other 1.1 million that they need to pay is for the return of prizemoney won).

Such deliberate and systematic cheating should not be tolerated in Australian sport, and besides the fixing of matches or the bribing of officials, this is about as bad as it gets in my opinion. It is clear that some of the players knew about this, as letters in a secret file telling players how and when extra payments would be made have been found. Of course this is hard to prove, but if any player is found to have knowingly recieved payments outside the salary cap, then i believe they should be prevented from playing representative football.

I think the penalty in this case is warranted, but if anything the fine is lenient, not too harsh. Adam, in what ways do you believe that the penalty was too harsh? What other penalty do you believe would have been appropriate?

[Adam Hancock]

Perhaps "over-reaction" was the wrong choice of word on my behalf.

The issue I have is the fact that the club has pretty much been foreced into closure. I understand better than anyone that Storm had it coming, and deserved to be put through the ringer for this, but to put in place a punsihment that will almost certainly spell the doom of the club is ridiculous.

Rugby League will never be a national competition if they are going to force a club out(rightly or wrongly) of the most sports crazy city in the country!

Even the AWB still exists and operates, and what they did (the paying off of a crual dictator) is much worse in my mind.

A major sponsor, Host Plus, are holding a press conference to no doubt sever ties with the Storm.

Just doesn't seem right that the Melbourne Storm will not exist any more as a result of this......

[muzzington]

They'd be better off shutting down now and reforming next year as the Melbourne Coldfront.

[bennymacca]

seriously though muzz, that is probably the way to go. if sponsors can't get behind a club, then the club will not survive.

the best option might be to start anew with a completely new club, tries to break ties completely with the storm.

i cant see any other option for them to get enough cash via sponsorship

[Swanky]

They'd be better off shutting down now and reforming next year as the Melbourne Coldfront.

Melbourne Tropic Thunder?

[bennymacca]

if there is any truth in this story, the you know what is about to hit the fan BIG TIME

to me, since there have only been small bets placed, i think its just betfair stirring up controversy to get themselves some free advertising.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/betting-p ... 5857441525

ST KILDA has firmed dramatically from $1000-1 to $3.50 second favourite on Betfair to win the AFL wooden spoon this year.

There were only small bets matched this morning but the betting exchange’s odds suggest an implication the unbeaten Saints could also be embroiled in the Melbourne Storm salary cap rort.

Storm’s former CEO Brian Waldron was St Kilda CEO before he changed codes.

St Kilda's price for winning the wooden spoon fell from $1000 to $3.50.

Richmond remains the $1.35 favourite to win the wooden spoon.

St Kilda reiterated this morning that it had complied with all AFL audits.

“We have a close working relationship with the AFL, including with the TPP and Assurance Department, headed by Ken Wood. The AFL player payment audit processes are incredibly thorough and most professional,” Saints CEO Michael Nettlefold said in a statement.

“Under the Greg Westaway Board, St Kilda Football Club have corporate governance protocols that we believe are amongst the highest standards in the AFL.

“Should the AFL feel it necessary to review any of the previous work undertaken with St Kilda Football Club, in any form, we would be fully supportive.”

“It should be noted that we also work very closely with independent audit firm Grant Thornton, who provide audit services to a number of AFL Clubs. A critical part of their engagement is, and will continue to be, audit work as it relates to total player payments.”

[Conspiracy Theorist]

What Melbourne Storm did is despicable and inexcusable. That cannot be argued.

What can be argued is the punishment handed down. Taking away the premierships and points earned so far is fine. But to not be able to win any more points? This is a punishment that impacts fans more than anything else, which I would have thought would be the last thing the NRL wanna do in an AFL state.

My $0.02

CT