Melbourne Storm Stripped of titles

[Steamin Demon 392]

I heard on SEN when Waldron was asked about this his answer was 'EVERYONE DOES IT, SO WHY SHOULDN'T WE' I firmly believe this is the just the tip of the iceberg. Then again I smell a Melbourne witch hunt, Even if the rules were broken.

[beelzebub 23,383]

Once again you dont know despite your satisfaction with a grip on the goolies. Its been 9 years since the last salary cap breach with Carlton and its taken all that time for them to recover. The draft pick penalties on both Carlton and Melbourne were savage and cut deeper than losing current season's points.

see..no need or desire to strip points.. the AFL is far more effective at remonstrating than the fools at the NRL.

Again.. the AFL wont strip points..theres no precedent for it(and nothing to be gained) The NRL is at any given time 5 mins from self destruct mode.

Also...there would seem to have been a greater desire to 'parent' the clubs in question over their trangression compared to the bully tactics of League. Still..what do you expect !!

[Sir Why You Little 37,195]

Sounds like 5 more Clubs are being investigated Right now-Melbourne Storm are just the Tip of the old Iceberg.

Maybe Waldren was right in his claims that everyone Rorts in the NRL....Could this be the end of that strange game??

[beelzebub 23,383]

btw...why isnt all this over at Other-Sports ?? just curious

[H_T 3,049]

btw...why isnt all this over at Other-Sports ?? just curious

There is conversation on a Storm thread there, but very little. This is more effective for now; it will probably move over to "Other Sports" forum when it's not as hot in terms of discussion.

[beelzebub 23,383]

make that 4 mins from self destruct and counting !!

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

see..no need or desire to strip points.. the AFL is far more effective at remonstrating than the fools at the NRL.

Again.. the AFL wont strip points..theres no precedent for it(and nothing to be gained)

As I said you dont know what the AFL will do and they have had no recent track record for handling this responsibly or decisively. The draft penalties on Carlton were crippling and floored the Club far worse than point stripping. There is no evidence that the AFL are adept at handling such a difficult matter. By your own beliefs, the AFL dont want to investigate Carlton who you also believe to be rorting the system. So I am not sure why you preach the wonders of the AFL Your claims are pretentious and unfounded. And a lack of precedent is never a sound basis for not doing something. I would have thought that the stripping of the points is a minor matter. The stripping of the premierships and past trophies is significant.

I note that Host Plus, Members Equity and another small sponsor have immediately severed their sponsorship and are appalled with what has happened. I guess they dont like walnuts.

You just cant hide from this fraudulent and dishonest behavior to the extent and level this has been done. This is triggering investigations in other NRL Clubs and has spread to the AFL.

[beelzebub 23,383]

Hide from fraudulent behaviour?.. Nope ..wholeheartedly agree...once youve been turned in youre in for it. It's the size and nature of the "it" I would argue here is disproportionate to whats happened.. For during their premiership years they were only about a 1/4 mil over the cap.. yes naughty for sure..but I ask...and in the context of other teams and other codes this is draconian...and dare I say extrmely short sighted of the NRL

There are apparently anywhere up to another 5-6 teams now well and truly in the spotlight. You can bet that Waldron wont go down alone. If hes for the pillory he might as well share the love. Then what happens ? if other clubs are found to have been very naughty too then surely similar penalties must be invoked otherwise sydney centric favoritism will be the cry of the day. Choose your metaphor.. house of cards..dominoes...chain..etc etc. Once that train leaves the station it cant return. One in all iin..one out all out.

Do we then have a situation where 2-3 clubs are playing or no points? The season would be in tatters ( again )

If i were Storm Id be looking around for other villians... to share the pain.

I only think the AFL is wonderful...by comparison.. I still think Carlton ought to be investigated thoroughly..and sanctioned ( again ) if need be...but strip them of points? Isee that as counterproductive....fine them and remove drafts picks...for as you say RR..that really hurts !!

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Its not the amount. The issue is that its provided them with an illegal advantage that has brought them a premiership illegally. They have been able to pay players on the list that they would not otherwise be able to retain. Its creative an artificial and illegal advantage. Its akin to drugs in sport, gambling and fixing games (Italian soccer and cricket) . Its rotten and the NRL must act to remove it.

If the NRL are serious about their code they had to act savagely and swiftly. Any game the Storm has played in is tainted from 2005 to now. The current playing list is over cap. News have appointed Deloittes a forensic lawyer to more accurate ascertain the full extent of the problem. So far we have 2 sets of books and AUD 1.7 million over 4 years. The fact that there are other Clubs that may be at fault in no diminishes the need to act on the Storm heavily. If other Clubs are caught then they should face a penalty consistent with the extent of their crime. Nothing Sydney centric about it.

If you think Carlton should be investigated then the use of draft pick penalties and fines have been a complete waste of time because they are a repeat offender. And if they have breached the salary cap over a number of years as second offender what would you do?? Take away their wooden spoons??

[bush demon 2,069]

Deleting Melbourne Storm's points for 2010 is a decision in stupidity rivalling the secret deals which got them in this mess. the nrl are pointing a gun at their own head.

if the big picture is a national competition then storm should have been given some small chance of continuing on in the current season. as things stand they have been gunned down like ned kelly.

i have never enjoyed this code, but am not opposed to the pleasure it gives to locals and expats who follow melbourne storm. is the nfl going to pull down the new stadium as well? they might as well retreat to the confines of sydney and just do the head-banging thing there.

[Sir Why You Little 37,195]

It may not be just the Storm who can acrue zero points this year.

Maybe the Storm will get their premierships back after all if the whole comp is Bent!! :)

[Retrospective 104]

Did Richmond breach the salary cap?

They could also finish a season with no premiership points!

[Go Dees Attack 0]

This is the beginning of the end of the NRL. They may have fallen on their own sword by their stupid reaction to the salary cap.

[DirtyDees DDC 187]

Deleting Melbourne Storm's points for 2010 is a decision in stupidity rivalling the secret deals which got them in this mess. the nrl are pointing a gun at their own head.

if the big picture is a national competition then storm should have been given some small chance of continuing on in the current season. as things stand they have been gunned down like ned kelly.

Yes, bad bad call. The NRL were so afraid that the Storm could still win this years premiership, even with the loss of their current points, they removed any possibility of Storm making the final 1n 2010. And David Gallup says it will work because they still have their professional pride to play for! What crap. What a stupid scenario for the rest of the year. Every time they take the field, they play with the knowledge that whatever happens, they'll walk off the ground as losers.

In their footy show, Gus Gould said that the Storm had been the best team for the past 4 years and played the best brand of Rugby League, but now we know that it costs money to put together that level of skill. He blamed that salary cap for being too small, and that the NRL had to decide if they want the quality of rugby league played by Storm, or they want the second tier skills of Cronulla (second bottom with 2 points). You pay peanuts you get monkeys.

Interesting to compare Gus's level of concern with the future of the Storm, with the blatant bias that marred their commentary during the grand final last year. I suspect there are an overwhelming percentage of rugby supporters up north who are watching the Storm go down, and loving it.

I don't know how they will pay their way now, esp if their owner New limited has second thoughts. They've lost good sponsors in Hostplus and Members Equity. Maybe the Dees should make a move to sign them up as sponsors. But not straight away!!! The last thing ME bank and Hostplus will consider at the moment is sponsoring a football team of any code.

Edited April 23, 2010 by DirtyDees DDC