Memo Scott Penn: celebrate, then get on with the jobs at hand

A couple of points: * I like how you say Manly have won 3 of the last 5 GFs. They would have if it wasn't for the cheats in 2007 but unfortunately it is only 2. * Brett Stewart racked up a legal bill of $400K, so he certainly did suffer financially. If it wasn't for the media hysteria - including Gallop's role in that - it is doubtful that the case would have ever gone to trial given the lack of evidence that was apparent when it eventually did and was thrown out almost immediately. * While he did suffer financially, I think Stewart's real suffering arose from him being hung out to dry by Gallop and others who should have been supporting him, and braded by the public as a rapist based on the accusations of a loon without being given the right to a fair trial. It is this suffering that drives his feelings towards Gallop to this day. * Stewart got massive discounts at the judiciary because he had never been charged with an offense on the field (or off the field aside from the 4 week suspension) in his long career. In any case 6 weeks would have to be at the top end of the scale given that he didn't even connect! * As for building a Spit Bridge, I wish somebody would! Wasn't it promised at the last 5 NSW elections!!

Beowulf, I travelled through the north shore on the way to the Grandfinal on the weekend. There were a lot of Manly supporters on the buses. On Monday I was at the Woy Woy Maccas and in front of the sign 'proud sponsors of the Central Coast Bears' was a guy sitting wearing a Manly jersey. It made me laugh :) In saying that I have seen quite a lot of central coast bears jerseys/tshirts etc. I even saw a guy wearing a CC bears tshirts in Fairfield last week! Good luck, keep up the good work.

They have no support on the north shore - I think you mean the peninsular....

This is by far the most intelligent response on this site in relation to the Brett Stewart suspension. Having a few too many at a season launch is par for the course. Gallop was clearly intimidated by the media reports of the rape allegations. Instead of declaring Stewart innocent until proven guilty, and sticking with the launch video, he panicked and hung Stewart out to dry, making it appear as though he were guilty in his eyes. If he had done that to me, he would be facing a massive legal action for defamation of character and loss of earnings. Asking for an apology is the least of the actions that Stewart could take.

What exactly did Stewart do? All we've ever heard is that he was drunk and asked leave, although that was disputed in the court case. So why was he outed for four weeks while Watmough got no suspension? The NRL should have left it to the courts and they've obviously learnt from that because I can't remember anyone else being suspended after Stewarts case. As for what was said to Gallop I doubt well ever know but if you ask me the media are loving it and dont wont to let it go, maybe we could send a body language expert and a lip reader around to the journos desks to analyse them. And god help them if they get drunk at the Walkleys.

Also oikee I love to see the Broncos get a few wooden spoons too to go through what the Cowboys went through, to feel what we felt the supporters,players,etc when it happened you need a reality check oikee you got a successful club be happy with it. Once you team get a wooden spoon it chaffs the true believers from the theater goers and the Cowboys supporter base stuck through it thick and thin let's see if the Broncos can do the same.

jeez turn about over-reaction oikee as far as I'm concerned the Broncos had there premierships and finals runs it time for teams like the NQ Cowboys to take there place, to be 3rd this season and to be in panic mode is bizaree to say the least. oikee the year the NQ Cowboys win an premiership a huge weight will be lifted off the Broncos as they won't be the only premier rugby league team in QLD. Also, the Broncos killed off the Crushers too so blame your own team for being a one city team. Broncos missing a final series is not the end of the world it's a cycle plus I'm suspicion of Broncos cooking the books in the mid 90's to have the QLD origin team as there team cmon oikee you throwing rocks into glass walls calling other teams out. P.S: I despise the idea of Broncos being a powerhouse club because they have to be in order to success, cmon oikee what about the other QLD teams who will become powerhouses also. In fact the Broncos were once powerhouses in the 90's but times are changing thank god.

Nice article David & some good points raised. I think Hasler must be some almighty glue stick down there on the peninsula because off the field the joint seems to falling apart. How can a club that has won 3 out of the last 5 grand finals continue to post a loss ? For what its worth i can't stand the Stewart brothers & their bullshit. Seriously, they have just won another premiership together, Glenn has just played one of the best games of football he will ever play in his whole career & been duly awarded one of the highest honours in the game the Clive Churchill medal & along the way they have both been rewarded with a test recall to play in the Four Nations tournament for their country & no doubt been renumerated handsomely for their efforts on Sunday afternoon. But still it doesn't seem enough for them. Brett Stewart would have been paid the whole time his 'feud' was going on, so he didn't suffer financially, yet he carries on & on like a petulant child. This remember from a guy that WAS going to be the FACE OF RUGBY LEAGUE in 2009.. As far as i can see he was extremely lucky to be even on the field for the finals series & should have been dealt 6 weeks for the way he ran in to the stink at Brookvale. It was enough to rub Blair out for the season. The guy has done nothing but whinge like a spilt petulant child. They both could have rung Gallop up & seen him in private away from the media & handled the whole thing with dignity. Gallop should have done this as soon as Stewart was acquitted. It would have cost him nothing more than a couple of coffees, a bit of pride but all handled in an adult way out of the media. Instead we have had nothing more than a bullshit soap opera for what ? So their club can once again be a victim...... The Stewart brothers need to build their Spit Bridge & get over it or get out of the game.

Cherry-Evans was already under contract with Manly last year when he was running around for our feeder club the Sunny Coast Sea Eagles. Before that he was identified by Manly and signed up as an unknown kid with not even any Qld cup experience. No, he was not on $500K when we signed him so he is not on $500K now. Your Bronco's had every opportunity to sign him up when he was younger but rejected him. Suffer in your jocks.

I am never ever going to believe a Mormon who is trying to covert me on my doorstep, their words are 'NOT GOSPEL".. Falou sold out to AFL and now Hoppa tells Manly he is going to stay with the club he loves (Whilst his agent signs him to the Eels). Not much thought to his Manly 'Flock' hey?.

You? Thinking? Unlikely.

PaddyBoy, i did not say once ever to get rid of the cap and have nothing. All along i have said we need to replace the cap with another system. Points for player ratings, a under 20 exemption for the first 3 years, whatever. The game has moved on, yet the cap is killing the game. The Broncos might have finished 3rd, but we have not even got a five-eight next year, so much for the cap. How can a powerhouse club be without a half. The Brisbane market demands a successful team, it really is that simple, you lose the Broncos, the NRL might as well pack up shop and return to a Sydney comp, because the Brisbane crowds are flocking to other codes, in their thousands, soon it could be hundreds of thousands. Once you lose Brisbane, its all over mate. The Cowboys and Titans are holding on by a shoestring, do you think they can prop the game up. :) Gallop is killing the comp, trust me. Young kids will just cross-over to AFL where they can earn double the coin they do in league. AFL might even beat league to a second team around Brisbane area, even if they dont, they have plans in place. Like i said, Brisbane should be a powerhouse, it is a weak watered down shadow of its former self. Gallop has no idea of the damage he is causing up here, kids are flocking to AFL, from the coast to the highlands. Parents are walking, fast. Manly gave them a push. The talk at every water cooler was about thugs, and thugs running the game and not even been punished.

PaddyBoy, I would advise against trying to talk facts with Oikee, the guy is an emotional wreck who is still crying himself to sleep at night because the Broncos lost the prelim final. The Broncos have won 6 premierships in 23 years and the guy is still not happy, unbelievable! Big bad Manly are ruining the comp apparently because they have all the refs in their pocket as well as being broke paupers yet somehow they are finding the funds to massively rort the salary cap...?!?!? According to Oikee the grand final was a shocker because Manly were playing in it yet it outrated the AFL grand final when NZ audiences are included. NRL crowd numbers are strong this year, yet according to Oikee fans are turning away in droves because clubs like Penrith, Roosters, Manly & Cronulla are in the comp. The guy is a walking talking contradiction.

You are looking more and more absurd by the minute. The Broncos missed the 8 last year with Ivan Henjak as coach. When they sacked Henjak and made Griffin the coach, they came within one game of the grand final. Now - which do you think sounds more plausible - a) Henjak was a crap coach and couldn't get results, and as soon as they got in Griffin, and with an improving crop of youngsters they finished 3rd or b) David Gallop is involved in a conspiracy to keep them down?

Oikee The Broncos finished 3rd. That's hardly a "weak club."

Oikee, Brisbanites not watching the game has little to do with the fact that Manly has players. "Club bosses were told that television executives believed Queenslanders were ''peculiar'' in that they would support any Queensland team - the Broncos, the Cowboys or the Titans - but not teams from anywhere else.That theory was the reason Channel Nine began televising two Friday night games several season ago - one involving a Queensland team that is broadcast live in Queensland each week" http://www.brisbanebombers.com.au/sites/default/files/pdf/2011%2007%2026%20-%20%20Additional%20Team%20Should%20Come%20from%20South-East%20QLD%20Clubs%20Told.pdf It has more to do with Queenslanders not watching teams from outside Queensland. A tight competition does more to boost viewing and interest than anything else. If the cap was scrapped, the Broncos would literally have anyone they wanted. This would be terrible for the comp, you might watch, but why would I bother watching any other team apart from the Broncos and my own? It would be a case of how much can Brisbane win by (like the Super League was) and it's boring. Do you expect fans to tune in, or turn up every week to watch the 17 best players in the comp wallop your team of also rans, before cruising to a 10th straight premiership?

I know - I'm thinking of taking a mentoring role at Manly next year...

Look, your answering your own questions, Brisbane are supposed to be a powerhouse club, one team, one city. If you think it is healthy for the game then maybe Cronulla and Manly should lead the comp, in sponserships, in crowd numbers, in memberships, they cant and you know it. If you want to see a weak comp where kids have to play grand finals every year against a team of internationals, good luck to you. I dont, and also i wont pay into it. The Broncos missed the top 8 last year, our first year ever, that is how weak this comp really is, every year i see the Broncos get weaker, weaker, the crowds dropping, dropping. Your killing this comp Gallop, killing it. So a weak Broncos in our third largest city is good for the game, yeah right, fans are turning to other codes in droves, waves, they are deserting your sinking ship. Someone in this game had better wake up, and fast.

By actually making them operate under the cap? Brisbane finished top four and were 80 minutes from a Grand Final, hardly a joke, especially considering the team is the youngest going around. They still get more money to work with as they get the additional player sponsorships that come with having an entire capital city which follows the sport, unlike clubs like Penrith. What Penrith business is going to fork out 180k to top up a Panthers contract? Brisbane have a few players who would get close to that kind of top up. All of this outside the cap.

Lockyer took less Money for his last year so the Broncos could sign up our juniors, so he took under the cap, lost money so we could at least keep our juniors. We lost a damm full forward pack 2 years ago, we are surviving on damm juniors, what you want Lockyer as well, get a life. He is retired now so go afer him for all i care, Gallop has turned our club into a weak morsel, a watered down club, a once proud club others wanted to rise to, now nothing but a damm joke.