Melbourne Storm Busted!

[Tink]

Yep Nulla Nulla.

Melbourne should just pull out and let them go back to their 2 man band - NSW and QLD and watch the game slowly self destruct.

 

[JTLP]

Still don't understand why you'd have 'secret files' stored away in a seperate room at the club headquarters? Surely people find this strange and the Storm can't have gone to that great of a length to hide it?

Mmmmmmmmm

 

[Tatts]

Seems strange that you would keep records of dodgy dealings that if found will put you in a world of hurt. Why not destroy any evidence?

(this was mentioned in an earlier post) Just heard on the radio betting odds (TAB) on Storm to take the wooden spoon yesterday went from 200-1 to 21-1, until it was suspended yesterday at 1pm. Someone apparently put $200 on them tuesday night and is in line to win $40k.

Apparently St Kilda fc (and the new Melbourne Union team) is to be audited/investigated during the time Brian Waldron was there.

 

[basilio]

It was interesting how for years Storm seemed able to lure and keep a number of top line players seemingly inside their salary cap. But pure logic would have said that unless these players are voluntarily forgoing hundreds of thousands of dollars there must be a scam.

And you would think that the owners would be well aware of these commercial realities.... But perhaps you wouldn't want to ask too many questions when your pet club and special promotion team is winning premierships and being declared Team of the Decade. So how much responsibility should News Ltd bear for not being willing to ask exactly how the club management was able to honestly attract and keep its star stable?

 

[Bushman]

The Melbourne who?

Then again the AFL seems to think that a West Sydney team is a good idea.

 

[gav]

A way forward for the storm:

1. tell the NRL to get stuffed and just pull out of the comp. The NRL will lose way more in revenue than the amount of the storm fine.

2. don't bother paying the fine. The NRL are not an organisation with a charter of public powers that includes fining individuals, companies and so forth. The fine is pending only as far as the NRL is the governing body. That is if you want to play in the comp, pay the fine, If you don't then you don't have to.

3. deceit is not the same as fraud. No party is the plaintiff in a legal sense. Sure the club decieved the NRL but the legal implications of this are far from clear.

4. Disband the club - good players will find a new home regrdless. the vast bulk of the roster would be picked up elsewhere in the coming year.

5. This would ruin the NRL in Victoria for a very long time and would expose the hipocritical nature of sydney centric thinking embedded deeply within the NRL psyche.

I agree. And this would pretty much spell the end of NRL in Victoria, permanently. This along with the expansion of the AFL and growing popularity of soccer will leave the NRL in a very vulnerable position.

 

[Mofra]

Not good news for the NRL, but very good news for those of us who follow the Australian game

 

[Bushman]

Not good news for the NRL, but very good news for those of us who follow the Australian game

Best comment I've read about the whole saga is that if the AFL finds that Waldron did the dodge at the Saints then there is the chance that they might be stripped of their wooden spoons! Lol.

 

[Mofra]

Best comment I've read about the whole saga is that if the AFL finds that Waldron did the dodge at the Saints then there is the chance that they might be stripped of their wooden spoons! Lol.

Classic!

They may need to be stripped of their royalties earned from the 10-game winning streak DVD from 2004

 

[awg]

3. deceit is not the same as fraud. No party is the plaintiff in a legal sense. Sure the club decieved the NRL but the legal implications of this are far from clear.

I doubt the ATO will take such a sanguine view, in fact I would suggest they will be all over the players and club like a dirty rash, possibly even today.

Unless of course, they fully declared all payments, which would raise the issue of player complicity.

I notice there is a report, that the previous CFO, one Cameron Vale, "left the club after a falling out with Waldron.. he was bullied, and never got on with Waldron"

I suspect some severe head-kicking will take place here, if you **** with News Ltd, ATO, RL and fans, only public sacrifices will suffice.

At least with the Prince incident, it would appear any considerations of dodginess was kept NOT in writing

 

[GumbyLearner]

Best comment I've read about the whole saga is that if the AFL finds that Waldron did the dodge at the Saints then there is the chance that they might be stripped of their wooden spoons! Lol.

LOL As a saints fan I'll have to pay that. Maybe Waldron stashed all the cash in the highly advanced half-time Moorabbin water sprinklers or gourmet grub for Pluggers dishlickers.

 

[GumbyLearner]

"cheat legal'' slogan sponsor withdraws support.

http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-leag...-dumping-storm-20100423-th3n.html?autostart=1

Major sponsor ME Bank announced this morning it was withdrawing its support for the club after yesterday's revelations forced a rethink.

"ME Bank believes in the principles of strong governance, transparency, integrity and fairness and we seek to ensure that all of our corporate and community partnerships uphold these same values," chief executive Jamie McPhee said.

The bank had supported the club since 2008.

Sportswear manufacturer SKINS, a fourth-tier sponsor whose latest advertising
campaign slogan is "cheat legal", also dumped the club.

 

[Happy]

Best comment I've read about the whole saga is that if the AFL finds that Waldron did the dodge at the Saints then there is the chance that they might be stripped of their wooden spoons! Lol.

Worst case scenario that wooden spoon might have to be split few ways, should creative salarries be more widely used.

To the point that it might become wooden splinter

 

[Boognish]

Not good news for the NRL, but very good news for those of us who follow the Australian game

Any sport you can't thrash the Kiwis and the Poms in is worthless.

 

[Mofra]

Any sport you can't thrash the Kiwis and the Poms in is worthless.

I guess that rules out Test Cricket soon

 

[BrightGreenGlow]

A few points about the Storm...

1. They invest heavily in young players that eventually grow up to become big name players. Due to the CAP they have to let them go. This is crazy.

2. The NRL should be punished for failing to properly audit the payrolls.

3. Since when can you take away previous year's premierships?

4. If they cannot attain points this year because their team is over the CAP how the hell is that fair to the other teams if the Storm beat them? NRL you are kidding yourselves.

5. This is yet another knee-jerk reaction from Sydney towards Melbourne.

6. Why are the fans and players being punished for what seems to be a management problem?

7. The NRL will lose out, no one will watch the games, attend the games, or buy Storm merchandise.

I would recommend a punishment as follows:
1. Management get the sack and flagged to never work in the NRL again.
2. Storm's current 8 points to be lost. Starting from 0 this week.
3. Option for Storm players to take a pay cut (much like the Bulldogs).
4. Storm may continue to play for points only when their current roster is under the CAP.
5. Premiership funds to be distributed to other clubs evenly.

I think gallop has lost the plot. You would be naive to believe every other clubs does not cheat the CAP system is some form or another. That's a FACT. I hear the Broncos have 100k+ paying cleaning jobs that a few wives seem to attain....

 

[Macquack]

A few points about the Storm...

....
2. The NRL should be punished for failing to properly audit the payrolls.

You must be joking? The NRL caught Melbourne Storm breaching the salary cap and they admitted their indiscretions.

I would think it is very difficult to audit brown paper bags.

I will go along with the view that all clubs breach the salary cap in some form including AFL clubs.

 

[nulla nulla]

Has the club (new management, fans etc) commenced legal action against the auditors yet for failing to detect the "cooking of the books" in their annual audits?

 

[Calliope]

It's a pity that all NRL players weren't as upright as Alfie Langer, former captain of the Broncos. Although testing more than three times over the limit and charged with DUI the magistrate took the unusual view that a conviction might affect his travel overseas, so he escaped with a small suspension and fine.

This was just B/S of course. The real reason was that he is such an upright citizen, a great role model and a credit to the NRL...and this is the first time they have caught him driving DUI. Correction; this is the first time they have charged him. It was so blatant.

 

[Duckman#72]

I really find the amount of support for the Storm quite amazing considering the level of deceit in this case. Molly Meldrum was on TV this morning saying "They shouldn't have taken away the premierships....those boys won them fair and square".

It indicates a complete lack of understanding of why and how the salary cap works. The salary cap is one of the solid boundaries that teams play within. It is very clear. In modern sport, where every little advantage is seized upon an additional kitty of $1.7 over several years is a substantial benefit.

It is no surprise that in the AFL, the the two teams who receive legal salary cap concessions (Brisbane and Sydney), have played in 6 grand finals over the last decade - winning 4 of them. No wonder Eddie Maguire and Collingwood were fighting so hard for the salary caps to be evened up. Essendon won the 2000 Grand Final after going through the season 21-1 and were labled by some as "the greatest team ever". One year later and all their contracts that were "backended" came due - they had to offload players and were never the same again despite having the same "core" group. By not coming down hard on teams that rort the system, you are effectively punishing the teams who have done the right thing.

I have respect for a code that has respect for itself and its product. Yesterday David Gallop demanded that the whole of Australia respect the NRL and good on him. Never thought you'd hear Duckman saying that!!

A few points about the Storm...

1. They invest heavily in young players that eventually grow up to become big name players. Due to the CAP they have to let them go. This is crazy.

This is the cut throat nature of modern football. Both the AFL and NRL used to have "feeder territories" from which to foster and develop players, however with the modernisation of the codes, draft in the AFL and unfair advantages from certain areas, it is now open slather. It is a challenge for the administrators of both codes to given incentives to teams who "grow" their own.

Ironically, a salary cap is designed to stop wealthy clubs plundering the talent of those weaker clubs. Teams like Carlton in the 70's and 80's were well known for trying to "buy premierships".

2. The NRL should be punished for failing to properly audit the payrolls.

A perfect example of the "audit expectation gap". The gap between what the public expects and auditor to find and what an auditor is looking for and actually finds. There is an old saying by auditors "We're watchdogs, not bloodhounds". Having said that, I am amazed that the level of the deceit went undetected for so long.

But the NRL has been punished enough.

3. Since when can you take away previous year's premierships?

Since all the clubs signed Statutory Declarations to play within the guidelines set down by the NRL.

5. This is yet another knee-jerk reaction from Sydney towards Melbourne.

I can't see the motivation for the NRL to destroy Melbourne. Seems ridiculous - even taking into account State rivalry.

6. Why are the fans and players being punished for what seems to be a management problem?

It is a double edged sword. The fans and players celebrated wildly their teams success and revelled in their dominance over the competition. Unfortunately it is more than just a management problem. It is not just an accounting journal entry. It is straight out cheating. It goes to the core of the football code and therefore it has to impact the fans and players.

7. The NRL will lose out, no one will watch the games, attend the games, or buy Storm merchandise.

Quite possibly.

I think gallop has lost the plot. You would be naive to believe every other clubs does not cheat the CAP system is some form or another.

I think David Gallop is to be commended. He has set the standard for every sporting code in the country. I bet there is a dozen or more football sides in Oz, running the ruler over the ledgers this weekend. And that can only be a good thing. Every team knows what the result of salary cap rorting will be. This was just as much about a message to the rest of the competition as it was for Storm. Gallop could easily have taken the soft option but he didn't.

As for "everyone is doing it" - that reason sounds as juvenile as the 16year old asking his girlfriend for sex.

Duckman