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The Parramatta Eels are the ongoing basket case of the National Rugby League for over the past five years.
Back-to-back wooden spoons in 2012 and 2013 and now after finding some well needed form that has reminded their fans of the 1980s, the Eels have been confronted with a salary cap issue that has almost dragged on for twelve months.
In May 2015, the NRL issued a breach notice to Parramatta for salary cap breaches in the 2014 season and threatened the club with a $525,000 fine and a four-point deduction for the 2016 season unless they completed an independent review – which they did.
But the issue arose again this year, with Parramatta failing to report third-party contracts to the NRL. And for weeks now the rumours have been floating around in the media and they just won’t go away.
So what should the NRL do? How severe should the punishment be?
The usual saying that has been go around is that the “board should be punished not the fans and the players”.
Yes, it seems unfair that the fans should be punished and you have to generally feel for them right now. The club has not won a premiership in three decades, they’ve gone through years of mediocracy and now when it seems everything is going right, it looks likely that the club has been cheating the salary cap.
And yes, if the Eels are found guilty, the board should be sacked and banned from rugby league for life.
But it’s time for the NRL to step-up and deal with the Parramatta salary cap issue once and for all. This issue has been on the players and fans back to long and its time the NRL came down and delivered its verdict.
And if Parramatta are too be found guilty of cheating the salary cap, let’s hope for the sake of consistency and justice, the NRL comes down hard on them.
In 2002, Canterbury where stripped of all their points (37) for rorting the cap by millions. The Bulldogs were hot favourites to win the premiership in 2002, but where kicked out of finals contention and finished with the wooden spoon.
In 2010, Melbourne where stripped of all their points (8) and banned from receiving points for the rest of the season, after massive salary cap rorts between 2006 and 2010. This resulted in their 2007 and 2009 premierships being wiped from league records.
And now in 2016, Parramatta is the latest club to severely rort the salary cap. How can someone justify the club not being docked all their points like Melbourne and being banned from receiving anymore in 2016?
If they are only stripped of eight or ten, that is only the difference between a top four team and a team finishing around eighth. Let’s face it, this Parramatta team, on their current form could be looking at their first serious push at a premiership since 1986.
First and foremost, it is time for the NRL and Todd Greenberg to step-up and hand down their verdict on Parramatta. This has dragged on way to long and it’s time to focus back on the game of rugby league.
Second, if guilty, Parramatta need to be handed the same punishment as Melbourne; docked all current points and banned from receiving anymore. If this doesn’t happen and Parramatta end up winning the grand final, it will be the biggest injustice in rugby league history.
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