In the eye of the Storm, Melbourne won't survive

How does this go with the widely held belief up in Sydney that the Storm rely on News Limited to survive, and that the NRL did everything to make them competitive from Day One? Keep in mind many clubs have been punished for misdeeds elsewhere- Juventus, Marseille, Standard Liege, Vardar Skopje. And they've all survived.

Mate. Take stock. It was AFL grubs inside the club that masterminded this. No doubt used to getting away with it in AFL with St Kilda Sad for sport, great for rugby league Patrick Smith From: The Australian April 23, 2010 12:00AM IF you have anything to do with the NRL you should feel very proud today. Whether you support Manly, whether you are a fan or sponsor of the Bulldogs, even if you are a mildly keen Victorian who keeps an eye on Melbourne Storm's fortunes. The NRL has shown leadership of the highest order, prepared to take a savage punch to land a necessary knockout. There has been no compromise to save the brand, no spin to soften the blow, no cover-up to hide the damage. Everything the NRL has done to Melbourne Storm is just and appropriate. Yes, rip the premierships off the club, fine it heavily, force it to repay ill-gotten gains, make it play the season out unable to gain a point - every game a stark reminder of its corrupt past. David Gallop and his team have rebuilt rugby league, a game ripped apart by the Super League wars and regular abhorrent off-field behaviour of players who had no respect for their fellow citizens, never mind the game itself. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. .End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Gallop has used every setback - and they have been severe and regular - to refine and strengthen the code. He could have walked away, for a man can only take so much. But he has never wavered, his belief in the sport tested but never severed. His courage and integrity were at first the glue that somehow kept the competition from imploding and yesterday they drove one the most important moments in Australia's sporting history. He will be further tested, of course, as it is imperative that rugby league maintains its presence in Melbourne. The Storm had won a market share. We only now know that it came with 12 pieces of silver. News Ltd boss John Hartigan was both a hurt and angry man last night. His sense of fair play violated. He supports the actions of the NRL because he knows how much trust has been breached by the cheats at Storm. But he should be proud that the NRL has had a depth of courage no other sport has shown. As contradictory as it seems, Melbourne's treachery will prove to be the NRL's finest hour. The AFL turned its back for too long while West Coast players ran amok, Cricket Australia hid the Shane Warne and Mark Waugh bookmaker link and rugby union tried to bury Ben Tune's positive drug test. The NRL has done none of this. When every football code is hell-bent on taking over the world, Gallop has put the future of the Melbourne outpost at stake for the sake of principle. The rats that Hartigan mentioned at yesterday's media conference appear to have been led by Brian Waldron, the club's former chief executive. Waldron once lectured his players as to how they must respect the game. It might prove to be one of sport's great one-liners. If Waldron is still employed by rugby union franchise Melbourne Rebels come today it must only be because he could not be contacted. And that might be entirely likely given how his reputation as an honest sport administrator has been shredded. The frauds at Melbourne, who kept two books, one for appraisal by the NRL salary cap investigators and another for the amusement and benefit of the corrupt, might not have blood on their hands but they do have tears of loyal supporters. They wept last night that they had been cheated, their loyalty misplaced, their premierships nothing but secretly funded corruption. Worse, they will realise that former officials at the club cheated not for the success of the club but their own self-aggrandisement. That they could swagger about town as masterminds of the outpost with the mostest. Do not think that the NRL will not go looking for second sets of books detailing illegal payments at other clubs. Having tasted the blood of the corrupt they will be thirsty for more. You can argue this was the blackest day in rugby league history. Perhaps even in Australian sport. A better perspective, however, is this: it is an insidious and irksome day for a handful of grubby officials at Melbourne Storm but it is a day of triumph for Gallop and his team. They have shown sport in Australia that there can be no compromise to the sense of fair play. No matter the consequence.

I am crushed by the events of today... It has taken me years to get my neighbours and family into our game... I come from Wigan and living in Melbourne as an RL fan is tricky... Obviously it is a sleazy thing to happen to your club but the punishment is way to steep and is self defeating... The real problem is obviosly the salary cap itself... lets be honest, how many top quality players have Melbourne bought in recently? Finch? The whole comp is flush with players developed or improved by the Storm... Keeping hold of them is impossible and the administrators have resorted to underhand means to keep the team together... The stripping of the titles punishes the players and the fans, who are not at fault. The decision to stop them from collecting points this season will ruin the whole season, and will have far reaching impacts on the competition for many years to come. Seeing Slater, Smith and Ingliss play for pride or scoot over to 'The Old Country' will damage the NRL brand far more than the actual crime has. Losing a successful club in Victoria will be catastrophic for the game, especially one with a growing and knowledgeable following... Gallop has blown it here with his incredible sanctions...

It is a huge disapointment to all rugby league fans, but no suprise that the NRL has taken the toughest stand ever seen in Australian sport. Not being able to accrue points for the rest of the season has basically finished Storm fans interest in Rugby League for this year and as with The Super League War, many will leave the game forever. Interesting the rorting was set up (it appears) by ex St Kilda CEO Waldron and makes one wonder if perhaps it is normal practice in that sport. The whistleblower was ( they say) an ex Storm employee now working with an AFL club. And some say it is not a war of the codes.

I will let them speak for this themselves but the NZRU announced it lost 16 million last year today and the new SANZAR deal shows rugby union remains a very small player in Australian sport. Those would tend to confirm the lack of interest in rugby union.

Its impressive the NRL took this stance, but its not a good day to be a League supporter.

No surprise the roar is filling up with anti-rugby league types trying to claim the Storm will fold. I think that is pretty pathetic in the circumstances.

If by "cockroaches" you are referring to the NRL, remember it stands for NATIONAL Rugby League. This wasn't a NSW decision, and the only entities that brought down the Storm were the Storm. You reap what you sow. Bye, Storm.

I disagree, Alan. It's a great day to be a league supporter because the game's administration took a firm stand against cheating, and acted without prejudice, fear or favour.

sad day for the storm but the cockroaches have finally suceeded in bringing down a team they despise and viciously hate the afl probably cant believe thier luck

There is no way the Storm can survive - as it is, the Storm survive on News Limited support, and Hartigan's comments do not suggest that News Limited is disposed to keeping the line of credit flowing. Then you chuck in the fines, repayment of prize money, reduced gate receipts (who would watch a team with nothing to play for) in a city that cares little for them. Melbourne Storm fans - welcome to the world of the North Sydney supporter.

You're foolish to assume that the NRL are happy about this John Melb. It doesn't matter how it happened, it happened and they have frauded the entire NRL competition and won two competitions by cheating. The NRL needed to take action and personally I think they took the only options they could....What credibility would the entire competition have if they Storm were allowed to get away with it? None, Zero, ZIP I hope the Storm survive because the NRL needs them, but if they don't they have done the NRL a massive disservice not the other way around.

From what I understand these were promissory note/contracts... not cash. My point is the Olympic Games runs this way, and that is regarded as pure. NRL have in one move killed rugby, the facts are this there are 6 teams outside NSW, to get membership numbers up to a national sport, teams within NSW are in financal dog s$#t! GO THE STORM!

Good article mate. News Ltd can throw all the cash they want at it, but they'll never be able to wipe this stain from the club. It won't have an effect on the game now, but what about the next TV deal? What if News wash their hands of it. Its a dark day for Australian sport in general. Not that it taints anyone else, but this is an historic day for all the wrong reasons. I can only think of the Michigan Wolverines NCAA "Fab Five" basketball team from the early 90's, the Chicago White Sox baseball team who took monet to throw the World Series & the Juventus sham of a couple of years ago as anything on a par with it. Systematic cheating. Thats criminal.

Looks like the Storm have already brought in the big guns in yet another elaborate ruse: http://weeklycoitus.co.nz/?p=1174 Will it work? Probably not. Warriors FTW this weekend.

I do free sorry for the fans. The season ticket holders would have an open and shut case to sue the club and they should. Melbourne WILL NOT survive for 5 main reasons. 1) They were already in debt, now have to repay $1.1M plus 500k fines 2) Sponsors will knock each other over running away from this club 3) Fans won't go to the games (lucky if 2000 show up on Sunday) 4) Bellamy had to know about this and was the main reason so may good players could gel so well as a team. He can't keep his job after this 5) They have to clear 700k worth of talent off this team before they can take the field next year. That's Inglis & Slater or Smith & Slater or Inglis & Smith. And IMO they shouldn't be allowed to all take pay cuts to stick together. How could they survive?

Tinnie What a sad day to be a league supporter. I hope deep down that Melbourne are able to overcome this tragic setback, commited by their own hands. But i cannot deny how critical the club is at the moment after literally destroying 11 years of hardwork thanks to the club's failure to realise that there is no room for under the table negotiations in the Salary Cap. I will mention that the Titans themselves may be feeling a little anxious. Why Melbourne, Why????????

Good article Alan. I have to admit when the Storm were able to buy Brett Finch mid last season (even if it was for cheap), it got me seriously wondering how they were fitting under the cap, i've had similar queries of other clubs over the years. I dont think its doomsday for Melbourne at this stage, but as you mentioned it is a damn big hill they're trudging up. Melbourne owe alot to it's fans and will some how have to go to great lengths to show they are appreciated and wanted, i think a public apology to their fans could be a good first step, from there im not sure at this stage.