Melbourne Storm Stripped of titles

[armstrong35 262]

Huh???

This is NOTHING like anything that has ever happened to MFC.

This isn't a team having financial difficulties, it's a team having 5 years of its history being erased totally for massive fraud.

no no no i meant its like melbourne not being able to pay the debts and stuff meaning how we would feel if it happend

not meaning its the same thing

i meant in a fan point of view

sorry it came out so wrong haha

[olgreydingo 51]

Its a pitty the AFL weren't as strong by striping Essendon of the premiership when they got caught!

[Jack7 463]

Melbourne Rebels is where he is now.

I know exactly where he is now,but he'll be stood down from the rebels immediately.

[Range Rover 1,935]

I've never liked that Brian Waldron bloke. Very smarmy, smart ass type of person (if you've ever heard him on SEN with KB and Neil Balme).

If he's proven as is suspected to be the architect of systematic fraud and rorting then it will have serious implications for the AFL

clubs he ran, most specifically St Kilda during the early to middle part of this decade.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Spirit of Barassi

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Storm have breached NRL rules not broken the law!

Its the AFL equivalent of Geelong systematically rorting the cap and winning 2 flags.

I wonder if Vlad is thinking...(Could Visy be....?)

I dont like league. I have no respect for the competition but....

I can think of a sport (called it a brand) that has worked so hard to absolutely destroy itself amongst its supporters, the media and the wider community.

Its a wonderful case study in sustained disaster!

[big tuna 0]

Huh???

This is NOTHING like anything that has ever happened to MFC.

This isn't a team having financial difficulties, it's a team having 5 years of its history being erased totally for massive fraud.

Agree that the MFC didn't have 5 years erased but we did breach salary cap rules about 10 years back (bit fuzzy on amounts and figures). The big difference is that we were not a powerhouse during that time... otherwise every other club would have squealed and the AFL would have handed down a bigger punishment than loss of draft picks and a fine.

[Dreamin' Demon 10]

If the team was located in NSW or Qld, I can see them slowly getting back on their feet however; in Victoria they will struggle to survive now. It's an absolute shame because I also would watch them if I had a chance.

There are a lot of broad smiles up north.

[titan_uranus 23,143]

You really have to feel for the players (assuming they didn't know what was going on).

They're no longer premiership players and they have nothing to play for this year.

[jacey 333]

You really have to feel for the players (assuming they didn't know what was going on).

They're no longer premiership players and they have nothing to play for this year.

Storm are done.

Expecting mass exodus from the players. players who were promised money won't get now so they've played for little to no money.

Who will want to come play for them? Who will go support them? Who will sponsor them? Aami park will have one less team. Hope they don't raise rent.

[deanox 8,959]

You really have to feel for the players (assuming they didn't know what was going on).

They're no longer premiership players and they have nothing to play for this year.

i dont care what the nrl says, they will never be able to take that away from the players. they were the best team of the year regardless of what they go paid. it might be dissapointing but i dont think they would care. imagine sometime told you that 'a premiership you won a few years ago doesn't count any more'? you still won it on the day, that'll be what counts to them.

Edited April 22, 2010 by deanox

[deanox 8,959]

Agree that the MFC didn't have 5 years erased but we did breach salary cap rules about 10 years back (bit fuzzy on amounts and figures). The big difference is that we were not a powerhouse during that time... otherwise every other club would have squealed and the AFL would have handed down a bigger punishment than loss of draft picks and a fine.

not true at all. essendon had been caught for rorting the system and joe gutnick went to the afl and 'owned up' that we had done it as well. instead of going easy on us for coming clean they smacked us- worse than essendon or carlton got hit when they got caught.

and if you wonder why we've been in the current onfield mess you'll realise that is directly related to those draft picks. we lost picks over 2-3 years including first round picks which meant we had a big hole in our experience around a certain age. once that age group hit 24-26 we struggled, we didnt have the footballers in their prime to win games. even now there is a gap of players between the 'jamar and davey' age group and the bruce and green age group.

[Spaghetti 264]

Very interesting (read: stupid) decision by the NRL. I agree that the Storm should be punished. Severely. But to potentially kill Rugby League in Victoria..? When the AFL are ramping up expansion plans of their own... What on earth are they thinking? And then there is the bizarre scenario where Storm will not earn point for the remainder of this season. What are Storm games going to be like now? Why should fans show up?

Seems a very rash decision from the heartland which they will come to regret in the years to come.

I'm no Storm fan (or Rugby fan), but I feel for their supporters. They don't deserve this. Even fans of the NSW/QLD clubs don't deserve this. The Storm were good to watch, and now everyone finds themselves in a season where the best team is not playing.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Stylus

[Range Rover 1,935]

Very interesting (read: stupid) decision by the NRL. I agree that the Storm should be punished. Severely. But to potentially kill Rugby League in Victoria..? When the AFL are ramping up expansion plans of their own... What on earth are they thinking? And then there is the bizarre scenario where Storm will not earn point for the remainder of this season. What are Storm games going to be like now? Why should fans show up?

Seems a very rash decision from the heartland which they will come to regret in the years to come.

I'm no Storm fan (or Rugby fan), but I feel for their supporters. They don't deserve this. Even fans of the NSW/QLD clubs don't deserve this. The Storm were good to watch, and now everyone finds themselves in a season where the best team is not playing.

But this is thw whole point of the harsh penalties. They're not the best team. They are sham and a fraud.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Extraordinary. This is bigger news than any the AFL will make all year... Was it fair? I don't think so.

You're punishing fans in a hostile state, not to mention players for cheating done on a financial and board level.

I'm all for handing out big punishments, but past premierships? Not even the AFL went that far for the Blues.

Just think what it did to them? I can't see the Storm getting over this for decades. The are cooked. Even if Bellamy sticks around, he'd need another ten years to keep it together down there.

[Dee Fan 3,247]

The NRL created Melbourne Storm and now they have destroyed them. They should have asked the players to come back under the salary cap and then allowed them to compete for points this year or sit out the remainder of the season. If they were trying to kill them off them they couldn't have done a better job.

[Swampfox 190]

This is a tragedy to all those who follow team sport in this country

All it takes is someone high enough within a club to want to win so bad they need to cheat

I have a few Carlton supporter mates who are feeling very nervous at the moment

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

People don't understand the importance of the salary cap. That along with the draft are two of the most import elements of the competition and saved the then VFL in the 1980's.

I would be surprised if they come out of this at alive.

[Whispering_Jack 28,118]

I recall that, at one point in time when Melbourne was looking for a CEO to replace Paul McNamee and Cameron Schwab had not committed to the job, Brian Waldron's name was mentioned in dispatches as being a possible candidate for the Demons' job. Turns out that he stayed put at the Storm and Jimmy persisted and snared Cam.

Could it be that we dodged a bullet and the Storm now faces its death knell as a result of this scenario?

[e25 5]

I remember that too.

Couldve been disasterous.

[deeflog 679]

Melbourne Rebels is where he is now.

was

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,150]

Storm are done.

Expecting mass exodus from the players. players who were promised money won't get now so they've played for little to no money.

Who will want to come play for them? Who will go support them? Who will sponsor them? Aami park will have one less team. Hope they don't raise rent.

I think it could be curtains too. I`ve actually been to quite a few matches over the years and even enjoyed some corporate hospitality at matches which was always awesome! I doubt I`ll ever go back to watch them whilst any of the current admin are involved. I reckon all players will want out right now. NRL is famous for players seeking contracts mid season and even leaving mid season at times. There will be a mass exodus for sure.

Word out of Sydney is that Bellamy may not see the week out as coach. He has stated that he had no idea about salary cap breaches, however the media up there are already all over him and highly doubt he had no idea of how the club managed to keep so many gun players in the same team. They are saying his career as a coach in Australia is most likely finished.

Shattering news, Storm are finished IMO

[Kiss of Death 708]

Disgrace. Fine them points and millions and draft picks, whatever, don't steal the premierships from a club.

RIP NRL, just dug your own grave. You're just going to be pushed further and further back towards Sydney now. Why would any other franchises set their self up, knowing that the entire league is against them, and just waiting for an excuse to come down hard.

Go Dees.

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,150]

Disgrace. Fine them points and millions and draft picks, whatever, don't steal the premierships from a club.

RIP NRL, just dug your own grave. You're just going to be pushed further and further back towards Sydney now. Why would any other franchises set their self up, knowing that the entire league is against them, and just waiting for an excuse to come down hard.

Go Dees.

I agree. The Sydney media have a lot to do with this I reckon. They`ve hated the Storm with a passion since they started. Ridiculously heavy handed.

[e25 5]

I'm tipping a lot of the gun players will sign to play union or overseas.

GI, Slater and Cam Smith are just too good to play out a meaningless season.

Self-destruct in 10... 9... 8... 7... 6...

[P-man 13,321]

I lost my respect for rugby league a fair while ago, but this is a particularly sad story as far as how it will affect the players, fans, and the innocent parties associated. Hard to see how the club can survive this. And not not playing for points this early into the season? Every Storm fixture will become farcical.

I agree the penalty seems exceptionally harsh, but really what choice did the NRL have? They breached the cap causing them to retain the likes of Inglis, Slater, Smith...the best players in the competition. And they reaped the benefits. Deserve to have their titles stripped.

Interesting to see how this impacts State of Origin as far as the psyche of the players, given a bulk of Queensland players come from the Storm.

Edited April 22, 2010 by P_Man