There are so many questions around this Storm scandal
Columnist By Brett McKay, 23 Apr 2010 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- David Gallop, Melbourne Storm, NRL, Rugby League, salary cap scandal
Related coverage
The Storm celebrate Dane Nielsen's try. NRL Rugby League, Round 4 Melbourne Storm v St George Illawarra Dragons at Etihad Stadium, Friday April 2nd 2010. Digital image by Colin Whelan © nrlphotos.com
Like most Australian sports fans (and probably even most sports writers), I am absolutely stunned at the degree of complexity, the level of secrecy, and the time-frame involved in the massive salary cap breach by the Melbourne Storm. As far as bombshells go, they don’t rank too much higher than this in the history of professional sport in this country.
As I attempted to absorb the details as they came out last night, all I kept doing was thinking of questions. And questions. And more questions.
Obvious questions. Hard questions. Easy questions. Questions from other questions.
So here they are.
The Club
How is it that the board didn’t find about this until sometime this year? Are we to believe that the people involved in this scheme have done so off their own bat, or was there some level of approval? To what degree are coaching and/or recruiting staff, both past and present, involved?
Do Melbourne have the finances to pay back $1.1Million in prize money AND the $500,000 fine for the breach? What will happen if sponsors start walking away today? Can the club survive this debacle at all?
News Ltd
How is it that this sort of scheme could be set up within a News Ltd-owned company without their knowledge? Is it possible that the money being used to pay players outside the cap is actually News Ltd money, unbeknownst to them?
If News Ltd genuinely didn’t know about this, and it’s not their money, then where did it come from? Is this, or was this a factor in News Ltd’s apparently sudden move to hand over ownership of both the Melbourne Storm, and the NRL, that led to the Independent Commission talks?
The Players
Was this secret “second set of books” used to pay all players, or just the cream of the crop? Did the players involved essentially have dual contracts, one with their “official” salary, and another with the secret payments? If so, how would the players involved NOT know that some payments were outside the salary cap?
What level of knowledge about this do their managers have? Did any of the players do some mental arithmetic during locker room “ballpark” discussions about money? Is there now much more behind Cameron Smith’s Fox Sports deal than we were recently led to believe?
Brian Waldron
If he indeed was the main architect behind this scheme, as News Ltd chairman John Hartigan said in the press conference, did he really act alone, or was there approval from above? Did he resign from his Storm CEO position to distance himself from this practice, or did he think he’d gotten away with the perfect premiership play?
Could he have set up similar schemes in his previous position at St.Kilda? Can he now possibly hold onto his position as CEO of the new Melbourne Rebels Super 15 rugby side?
Can we be assured that all deals he’s set up for the Rebels are above board? Can he possibly be employed in Australian sport again?
Honestly, I just don’t know where to start with this mess, this cunning, calculated, stunningly shocking mess.
I’m sure Phil Gould would see the irony of me using his catch-cry on a topic that is one of his greatest pet hates, but frankly, there is no better way to describe my thoughts on this massive development: NO, NO, NO NO NO.
Recommend this story.
Follow Brett McKay on Twitter: @BMcSport
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
- Explore:
- David Gallop, Melbourne Storm, NRL, Rugby League, salary cap scandal
April 23rd 2010 @ 10:18am
sheek said | April 23rd 2010 @ 10:18am | Report comment
Brett/Guys,
On his radio show this morning, Alan Jones pointed out that 14 of the 17 man squad from 2000 Brisbane Broncos GF winning team were internationals at the time.
How did the Broncos manage to keep all these star players under the salary cap?
The obvious inference by Jones is that many more NRL clubs are rorting the salary cap, & have been doing so for years & decades. The only difference between them & the Storm is that they haven’t been caught …..yet!
No other NRL club can throw stones at Melbourne lest they draw attention to themselves!!!
That said, I’m a supporter of the salary cap. In life, we have to live within boundaries. None of us are an entity only to ourselves. We have a responsibility to our partners, children, parents, family, friends, workmates, community, society. That’s the way it is, & should be.
The great Mahatma Gandhi said the world has enough resources for everyone’s need, but never enough for everyone’s greed. Human nature’s thirst for greed & gluttony knows no bounds.
Things like the salary cap are designed to protect us from ourselves. Better players can still earn more money than the also-rans, but the idea is to help everyone survive & thrive intact. Perhaps the salary cap should be adjusted upwards since the NRL makes more money above what it pays to the clubs.
But make no mistake, it’s not the salary cap that is the problem here, but the greed of human nature…..
April 23rd 2010 @ 10:32am
True Tah said | April 23rd 2010 @ 10:32am | Report comment
Good point sheek, I dont think anyone was game to question the Broncos/Bennett etc about this fact. The argument that was trotted out at the time was that players will accept a bit less to stay at a champion club and that living costs in brisbane are cheaper than sydney.
April 23rd 2010 @ 10:36am
reds fan said | April 23rd 2010 @ 10:36am | Report comment
has anyone noticed that is seems to be former Super league clubs or clubs associated with news ltd that have the issues? Is this just my perception or this true? i can’t recall if the bulldogs were part of the Super league breakaway.
April 23rd 2010 @ 10:56am
Chop said | April 23rd 2010 @ 10:56am | Report comment
Reds Fan, they certainly were, as were Auckland who missed out on the semi’s in 2006 by stepping up and admitting they’d made an error and last 6 (from memory) premiership points.
April 23rd 2010 @ 9:41pm
berra boy said | April 23rd 2010 @ 9:41pm | Report comment
yeah, because Manly Easts and Parra have always done everything by the book!
April 23rd 2010 @ 10:11pm
Pete said | April 23rd 2010 @ 10:11pm | Report comment
Berra as a Parra fan I worry how the team fits unders the cap:
Luke Burt, Cayless, Grothe, Hayne, Hindmarsh, Inu, Meteo, Moimoi, Mortimer and Poore. Not is the same talent pool as the Storm, but they wouldn’t come cheap. I guess that’s why we’re losing some next year.
April 23rd 2010 @ 10:52am
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 10:52am | Report comment
Very hard to argue with any of that Sheek, and that was essentially the thoughts of Tones up above too. How many other clubs are double-paying for marquees? Will we ever find out?
Reds, the Bulldogs were part of Superleague, but I’m not sure it’s as balck and white as you say. There’s always been suspicions about Manly, Easts, even Parramatta came into question in the last year or two. It’s probably easier to assume all clubs might be in the wrong to some degree than to say it’s just one side of the old divide…
April 23rd 2010 @ 11:22am
Mick of Newie said | April 23rd 2010 @ 11:22am | Report comment
First, can we completely ignore Gus Gould. He is just leveraging this to flog his hobby horses, the Salary Cap and David Gallop. The man is a perennial whinger.
The reporting appears to be foccussed solely on Waldron. If they want to really address this issue players should be made accountable. What has been reported, if true would indicate that certain players were getting additional payments. They or their management would have known this (and it appears actually negotiated it). They would also have known that the reason they were getting the side $$ was to avoid the cap.
They were willing participants in the cheating. They should be banned.
Who else is doing this is in my view a diversion (the Ben Johnson defence). This stuff will always ultimately get out because in time sponsors, staff or players become disgruntled (or the auditor lucks on to a document) and it leaks.
Tough penalties (such has retrospective action agianst clubs, staff and players) and vigilance is the best deterance.
April 23rd 2010 @ 11:58am
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 11:58am | Report comment
Mick I certainly would be wanting to question player managers for sure, but it’s quite plausible that the players individually might not have much idea of situations other than their own. Sure they would know and talk ballpark figures, but they’re footballers, not accountants. Managers though would be well aversed on the salary cap situations of clubs though, because they pitch players to clubs at a price..
April 23rd 2010 @ 9:45pm
berra boy said | April 23rd 2010 @ 9:45pm | Report comment
In tax law the taxpayer is responsible even if put into illegal schemes by their accountant – not understanding or being aware is not an excuse. I’d like to see the same rules applied to the players. There is simply no way a player manager didn’t wink or nod at a player and say “you’ll be right, we’ll keep you here, there’s a way”.
The other interesting question in this area is why did Cameron Smith drop his player manager last year and negotiate himself. Did he find out what was going on and try to distance himself, or did he get pressure from the club that he could get even more of he got rid of the manager…
BTW – I’ve said it on other posts, there is absolutely NO WAY Bellamy couldn’t have known. Did he never question how it was possible to keep the core squad together for years – c’mon…
April 23rd 2010 @ 12:02pm
SteveDarke said | April 23rd 2010 @ 12:02pm | Report comment
Waldron is the fall guy, no doubt about it.
He and a few others in management will be vilified and sacrificed (particularly attractive and convenient to the NRL since he jumped ship to union).
The players will be white-washed for the good of the game (and to save the Kangaroos and the State of Origin this year), despite obviously being just as guilty as Waldron.
Such is the crap corrupt world we live in these days, where TV ratings are more important than ethics or morality.
April 23rd 2010 @ 12:15pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
Steve, one of the SMH articles had a little ending piece titled “What do they know?” and named five or six current and former Storm staff. I won’t list them here, but it’s fair to say a number of men in this episode are going to face some tough questions in the coming weeks and months. There’d be stat decs in play too, and it already appears that fraud investigations will begin. It’s probably going to get uglier before it improves..
April 24th 2010 @ 9:53am
ilikedahoodoogurusingha said | April 24th 2010 @ 9:53am | Report comment
Not sure about that. According to radio up on NSW Central Coast today, the ATO and ASIC are now involved in the investigation. If anything is untoward, they wont be able to cover it up entirely.
April 23rd 2010 @ 12:05pm
M1tch said | April 23rd 2010 @ 12:05pm | Report comment
Major Sponsor ME Bank are gone – first sponsor to go
April 23rd 2010 @ 1:28pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
Mitch, it’s hard to see them being the last. Can the club afford new blank jerseys, or are they buying lots of gaffer tape rolls for this weekend??
April 23rd 2010 @ 3:12pm
Dogs Of War said | April 23rd 2010 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
I said it before, they need to follow the Bulldogs lead, and give a charity a plug. That goodwill gesture will go a long way to repairing the damage they have caused. And it’s the very least they could do.
April 23rd 2010 @ 2:17pm
rugbyfuture said | April 23rd 2010 @ 2:17pm | Report comment
so have hostplus and skins, with kooga and suzuki supposedly waiting for “discussions”
April 23rd 2010 @ 2:29pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 2:29pm | Report comment
RF, this on The Australian site:
“Caravan company Jayco and car maker Suzuki will assume the position of the club’s major sponsors from this weekend.”
But Suzuki are said to be reviewing their involvement after meetings next week.
Also:
“Skins was also forced into action by the revelations, with the company running an advertising campaign using the tagline “cheat legal” that suggested using the product was a way to cheat legally rather than using drugs or taking secret payments. ”
unfortunate marketing slogans no. 413……
April 23rd 2010 @ 3:27pm
rugbyfuture said | April 23rd 2010 @ 3:27pm | Report comment
that slogans great.
April 23rd 2010 @ 1:38pm
Johnny said | April 23rd 2010 @ 1:38pm | Report comment
AS to sponsors, one of your questions has already been answered with Members Equity pulling out as major sponsor this morning, i reckon Suzuki will follow them in the coming days.
I am led to believe by my Kiwi mate there that lots of RL supporters in Melbourne are also Union supporters as well and the support base is quite integrated there, possibly in response to the anything but AFL attitude.
Dragons
April 23rd 2010 @ 2:41pm
Mick of Newie said | April 23rd 2010 @ 2:41pm | Report comment
Brett
I accept that players would not know what others are on. They may also be wilfully blind to dusty arrangements they are involved in.
They would know however if they were getting money in circumstances that was unlikely to be in the cap. They are not culpable for the full extent of the fraud but they should be accountable for their dirty little bit of it.
Same goes if they sign a contract with one number in it and have a letter that says they will get a bigger number.
I have a suspicion that the player managers will get stitched up but the players will play dumb (warney’s slimming pill comes to mind).
April 23rd 2010 @ 3:23pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 3:23pm | Report comment
Mick, it would all depend completely on how the contracts were structured, I guess. I now hope that like the Firepower episode, someone comes out with a book detailing how it was all done, becuase it would actually be a fascinating read…
April 23rd 2010 @ 2:45pm
apaway said | April 23rd 2010 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
Brett, there is another heading you could have written under – THE COACH. I find it difficult to believe that Craig Bellamy had no knowledge of this scandal, seeing he would have had a major say in how is retained, who is recruited and who is let go, as well as in-depth knowledge of a player’s market value, not to mention their salary demands.
Should Craig Bellamy coach NSW?
If it transpires that any player or coach participated in this subterfuge, they should be suspended for one year minimum, or at least the length of time that they were knowingly involved.
April 23rd 2010 @ 2:52pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Apaway, there was several other heading I could have included, and yes, Bellamy was one. Betting was another one, as was Player Managers.
All valid questions though..
April 23rd 2010 @ 2:45pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
I have to share this, just sent to me from a colleague:
Underbelly returns to Melbourne in Series 4: “UnderBellamy – A tale of Two Contracts”
April 23rd 2010 @ 3:00pm
AndyRoo said | April 23rd 2010 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
I heard it earlier but as “a tale of two books”
April 23rd 2010 @ 3:03pm
Brett McKay said | April 23rd 2010 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
it certainly doesn’t take long!!
April 23rd 2010 @ 4:21pm
sheek said | April 23rd 2010 @ 4:21pm | Report comment
Set during the French Revolution, the novel ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’ detailed the trials & tribulations of nobility in London & Paris. Well, that was all the background to a love triangle, anyway.
Now we have ‘The Tale Of Two Books’ set in Melbourne during the NRL series. I’ve heard that the whistleblower was the disgruntled party in yet another love triangle!
April 23rd 2010 @ 9:50pm
berra boy said | April 23rd 2010 @ 9:50pm | Report comment
My 12 year old daughter just joined a facebook group – Forecast for this Season, Fine and Sunny and No Chance of a Storm
Boom boom
April 23rd 2010 @ 8:21pm
Tom said | April 23rd 2010 @ 8:21pm | Report comment
Cameron Smith: “Craig, how are we supposed to go out there every week and know no matter how hard we try, we won’t have any points at the end of the year?”
Bellamy: “I don’t know. I’ll ring Ricky Stuart and ask him”.
April 24th 2010 @ 3:25pm
Mark Young said | April 24th 2010 @ 3:25pm | Report comment
AHHH!!!! I love it!!!!
I just told that joke to an AFL friend so i changed the punchline to Damien Hardwick (he is the Richmond coach yeah?)