Is my club rorting the salary cap too?
April 27th 2010 05:49
It’s a good question and according to former Storm CEO Brian Waldron they are. He says every team is rorting the cap except for Canberra who can’t afford to. He claims he told NRL boss David Gallop that the system needed an overhaul years ago, a request which was allegedly ignored but Gallop says he can’t recall the conversation.
Cheaters. liars, heroes. Whatever you call them the Melbourne Storm are an illegal team and have been caught rorting the salary cap system by around $1.7 million. When it happened to the Bulldogs in 2002 they only had a few games left to play, but the Storm have planned to play out a gruelling season with many more matches still to play. What’s the point?....Pride. But how long can the 'pride' card last before they crack? Can the players carry on this ‘pride’ to the end of the season with such a criticised team? Can they survive next year after the imposed 1.6 million dollar fine and sponsors pulling out? Will the team appeal the decision to have the 2007 and 2009 premierships taken from them? Who would want a trophy marred in controversy? and does this spell an end to the salary cap system or does it just need to be raised? Do we want a system like the highly successful EPL where clubs pay players whatever they can afford thus certain teams dominate each season? There are many questions to be answered and one things for sure it needs an inquiry and it perhaps needed something like this scandal to kick it off.
The top rugby league salary in Australia is around 400 thousand dollars. How do we keep our good players from venturing overseas for million dollar deals without throwing a boat or two at them or shopping vouchers? Perhaps this is why more haven’t left, because we do give them more than what’s written on paper. What is this going to do to the NRL if players are paid the supposed ‘pittance’ sports wage? Will the standard of play drop as they head to overseas clubs which will pay them more?
The aftermath of the salary cap rort is an interesting one, with former Melbourne CEO Brian Waldron finally speaking out declaring he will bare all, denying he was the architect of everything, putting pressure on the Storms part owner News Ltd to stop acting so squeaky clean about the whole thing. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say. He has called for an inquiry into the salary cap system and says clubs have been rorting it for several years. Now the News Ltd boss has demanded staff come forward and spill the beans on what they knew about the fraud. Insider trading is also being questioned after a punter placed $200 on the Storm, one of the strongest teams in the league to get the wooden spoon.
The investigators looking into the Storm’s rort have a big task ahead of them, to see who did what, who acted deliberately outside the rules and whose head will roll. So do we blame the administrators, be angry with the players or give the players sympathy? As the aftermath continues to unravel, fans are let down, and investigators search for a person to blame I wonder if the situation will spin out of control and another can of worms will be opened. One things for sure, the Storm damage is far from over and it'll be interesting to see which players stand by to help rebuild it and who runs for cover.
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