Roar Pro
As the finals race has enters its last leg, the NRL has a fundamental problem that threatens to mar the integrity of the standings.
The problem is the way the NRL has handled Parramatta’s salary cap cheating.
It is not the punishments that the games administration has handed to the Eels, it’s about the teams affected by their cheating.
Parramatta have been deducted the 12 points from wins gained while breaching the cap and rightly so, but what about the clubs who lost to them?
Right now the NRL have not awarded the competition points that were taken from Parramatta to the clubs they defeated. The games are listed as follows.
Round 2 versus Cowboys 20-16
Round 3 versus Bulldogs 20-6
Round 4 versus Wests 8-0
Round 6 versus Raiders 36-6
Round 7 versus Manly 10-22
Round 9 versus Bulldogs 20-12
The ladder at the moment looks like this.
Pos | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Bye | Streak |
1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 481 | 274 | 207 | 36 | 2 | WWWWW |
2 | Melbourne Storm | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 444 | 208 | 236 | 34 | 2 | WWWWL |
3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 462 | 253 | 209 | 28 | 2 | WLWWL |
4 | Canberra Raiders | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 458 | 372 | 86 | 27 | 2 | WWWWL |
5 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 409 | 336 | 73 | 26 | 2 | LWWWW |
6 | Brisbane Broncos | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 418 | 338 | 80 | 24 | 2 | LWLLW |
7 | Gold Coast Titans | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 401 | 384 | 17 | 22 | 2 | WWLLW |
8 | Penrith Panthers | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 376 | 389 | -13 | 22 | 2 | WWLLW |
9 | New Zealand Warriors | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 399 | 420 | -21 | 20 | 2 | LLWLW |
10 | Wests Tigers | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 376 | 450 | -74 | 20 | 2 | WLWLW |
11 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 239 | 397 | -158 | 20 | 2 | LLLWW |
12 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 339 | 399 | -60 | 18 | 2 | WWWLL |
13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 340 | 430 | -90 | 14 | 2 | LLLLL |
14 | Parramatta Eels | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 176 | 190 | -14 | 12 | 2 | LLWLW |
15 | Sydney Roosters | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 303 | 445 | -142 | 10 | 2 | LLLLL |
16 | Newcastle Knights | 18 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 225 | 606 | -381 | 7 | 2 | LLLLL |
If it was adjusted with points redistributed to teams that lost against Parramatta when they were cheating it would look like this.
Pos | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Bye | Streak |
1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 481 | 274 | 207 | 36 | 2 | WWWWW |
2 | Melbourne Storm | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 444 | 208 | 236 | 34 | 2 | WWWWL |
3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 18 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 462 | 253 | 209 | 30 | 2 | WLWWL |
4 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 18 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 409 | 336 | 73 | 30 | 2 | WWWWL |
5 | Canberra Raiders | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 458 | 372 | 86 | 29 | 2 | LWWWW |
6 | Brisbane Broncos | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 418 | 338 | 80 | 24 | 2 | LWLLW |
7 | Gold Coast Titans | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 401 | 384 | 17 | 22 | 2 | WWLLW |
8 | Penrith Panthers | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 376 | 389 | -13 | 22 | 2 | WWLLW |
9 | Wests Tigers | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 376 | 450 | -74 | 22 | 2 | WLWLW |
10 | New Zealand Warriors | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 399 | 420 | -21 | 20 | 2 | LLWLW |
11 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 339 | 399 | -60 | 20 | 2 | WWWLL |
12 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 239 | 397 | -158 | 20 | 2 | LLLWW |
13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 340 | 430 | -90 | 14 | 2 | LLLLL |
14 | Parramatta Eels | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 176 | 190 | -14 | 12 | 2 | LLWLW |
15 | Sydney Roosters | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 303 | 445 | -142 | 10 | 2 | LLLLL |
16 | Newcastle Knights | 18 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 225 | 606 | -381 | 7 | 2 | LLLLL |
The change shifts the competition markedly.
The Bulldogs would move up to fourth with two extra points.
Canberra would be one position lower in fifth, but would have an extra two points giving them a five-point gap on the Broncos.
The Cowboys would also be closer to the second-placed Storm with 30 points instead of 28 points in third.
It’s not just the top four that looks different though.
The top eight race has a new shot of adrenaline injected into the home stretch when factoring in the changes.
Wests would only be out of the finals by points difference.
Manly would also be fancying their chances even of a finals berth even more with an additional two points.
This means that there would be four teams outside of the eight only two points (or less) from playing in September.
The NRL should correct the wrongs brought about through cheating.
In the Olympics when a gold-medallist is found to have cheated, second is given the gold. The same happens in the Tour de France.
The NRL has the chance to give back what was taken from teams that had lost unfairly.
On the off-chance Todd Greenberg is reading this – or anyone else in the halls of power in the NRL for that matter – the ball is in your court.
For the benefit of the game and the integrity of the competition, it is time to take action.