The NRL’s handling of the Parramatta Salary cap scandal reeks of double standards after Parramatta’s penalty and sanctions were officially made Public by Todd Greenberg on Saturday.
After a long investigation by the NRL, Parramatta were finally docked 12 points, revoked their points differential from Rounds 1 to 9 and fined $1 million.
The burning question that needs to be asked here though is, is the penalty that has been imposed on the Parramatta Club sufficient and why have they only been stripped of 12 premiership points and given the opportunity to play for points and finals football in 2016?
The Melbourne Storm were stripped of all of their premiership points and forced to play for no points for the rest of the season in 2010 after news broke that they had been found guilty of Salary Cap breaches.
Whichever way you look at it the Parramatta Club has systematically and intentionally rorted the salary cap to gain an advantage over the other NRL clubs, so why is the Parramatta Club still allowed to play for points?
Sure, they became cap compliant with the retirement of Anthony Watmough and the transfer of Nathan Peats to the Gold Coast Titans, but that still doesn’t change the fact that the Eels knowingly breached the cap. Were the Melbourne Storm Club offered the same opportunity to become salary cap compliant back in 2010 or did the NRL decide to make an example out of them by handing them the toughest possible penalty?
It will take years for the Parramatta club to recover from this scandal and other ongoing issues including the Kieran Foran, Semi Radradra and Corey Norman. Their reputation and integrity are now in tatters, and they desperately need strong Leadership, the question is where will it come from? Parramatta’s coach Brad Arthur appears to be their only saviour at the moment.
It would appear to be stating the obvious, but a broom needs to be put through their front office so that they can start anew and sooner rather than later.
The saddest part of all though through this whole process is that the players and fans are the real victims here due to the calculated and devious actions of a few people in power at Parramatta who still refuse to take responsibility and accountability for their actions.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Extreme and harsh punishments have never really acted as a deterrent in the way people envision them too.
John
Guest
The thing that irks me about the Storm treatment was how teams still tried to rort the system after that punishment was dished out. Clearly the punishment then wasn't harsh enough if it didn't deter the Dogs or Eels. I see the Eels treatment being even worse, if you relate these punishments being dealt out to disciplining children, the Storm copped a spanking and the Eels got a talking to.
pete bloor
Guest
The storm punishment was inept and ineffective, and now Parra gets a watered down version Just about every competition with a draft has had an issue with teams potentially losing to improve the draft picks and yet the NRL thinks that imposing a similar fate as a punishment for years of defrauding the league to construct and entire roster of proven talent. Life in the NRL vacuum. Unless you punish future years you are outright encouraging teams to behave like this. Reduce their cap going forward by the amount they cheated plus a compounding loading penalty and you’ll have a punishment. The current one is a joke and an obvious moral hazard. The Eels management did the right thing. This team will be better for them having defrauded the league and the punishment was always going to be a ham-fisted Charlie Brown attempt at converting justice. If your team hasn’t looked at this and haven’t built a scapegoat defence and a strategy for going as far above the cap as possible, well then they just aren’t trying. If you look at your competition and it’s got a lower hit rate on seasons run as per the rules than Zimbabwean elections then as an administrator you are an abject failure. And the issue isn’t monitoring the cap, which can never be done with a high success rate, it is actually having a deterrent if your caught - which at the moment doesn’t exist.
Donald
Guest
What parramatta was doing is actualy being done at every club. That's how they know exactly what to look out for. The fact is, the previous management should have allowed themselves to be governed by the NRL and they would have worked with them to get everything right. Instead, they opted to take another approach and that's why the NRL came down hard on them. The players know that they are not bigger than the club, but in this instance, the club thought they where bigger than the game. When other clubs coaches miss out on negotiations to obtain a player and then find out the player has signed for less money at another club, then you know there is something dodgy going on. In my opinion, the sad part in this entire saga in the way the NRL and the media attempt to deceive the eels fans. "Still a chance to make the top 8" was absolute bull. They just wanted to keep selling tickets. They are sending players to other clubs and systematically destroying the team. The players that refuse to leave or ask for more money are being pressured by having their personal lives exposed in scandals. Paulo, Radradra and Norman to name a few. After distributing the better players to other clubs, they expect the Eels fans to now be happy with news that Jarryd Hayne is considering a return, and of coarse, showing everybody footage of his best runs in 2009-2011. I think the penalty was too strong for the crime. 500k over the salary cap and they are charged 1mil, the whole board is sacked and they loose a further 500k every year for 3 years. What a joke. Not everybody is fooled. You got rid of the people that did the wrong thing, now leave the club alone and let them get on with it!!
Bruce
Guest
The large penalty was designed to gain sympathy and show there was no bias - get it...But letting Hayne come back and play mid-season would tilt my view in favour of the view that Storm and others were harshly treated compared to the car crash that is Parramatta esp if these car park cash allegations are true...
Steve
Guest
Can we put this to vote Andrew?
andrew
Guest
lol. I would say Brad Arthur can have six wives of his choosing if he likes, but given the current cap situation Parra may not be able to lure top recruits for the role of wife....
bbt
Guest
Yet 50% of the owners who ran the comp owned the Storm!!!
Bruce
Guest
The Storm had rorted for years so needed to lose premierships and Parra of course have won nothing. The Raiders didn't lose anything when they were caught and Canterbury lost everything when they were caught so its all over the place. Interestingly they only looked back to 2006 when Waldron started there so as to blame him so it was pretty obvious he was going to be the bunny. The fact that the owners ran the comp needed a big penalty incl the fact they wanted the Victorian public to rise up against those b.....ds in Sydney who ruin any Victorian success. So like establishing the Raiders in Southern NSW turn a blind eye to salary cap rorting while they win premierships and gain a foothold, then blame the big guys in Sydney for punishing them.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Nines title not sevens.
MikeTV
Guest
The answer to your question is YES - a Club found rorting the cap will be allowed to "play for points" as soon as they cut some players and become cap compliant. Some Clubs could do that immediately after getting caught, but some clubs might need several weeks to offload players. Parramatta were also stripped of their 2016 Pre-season Sevens Title. And, if Parramatta had actually achieved something in 2015, 2014 and 2013 then they would have been stripped of those achievements too.
bilo
Guest
King Arthur??? Do you mean to reference King Henry VIII or have you just elevated Brad Arthur to a more regal role within Parramatta
Brendon
Guest
Another issue with this, is where the magic number of 12 came from. If I remember correctly, 12 points was the amount parra had when they were caught correct? Is this the precedent that is set then? Does that mean if the Roosters (pure example) are rorting and are caught in round 2 next year, that they'll only lose 2 points (assuming they win?) That's really making these penalties count for nothing now isn't it?
Brendon
Guest
I disagree. I'm not for punishing the eels to the same level, don't get me wrong. I think the way the Storm were treated was beyond rubbish. But the NRL made their bed, they should have to lie in it. They set the precedent, and the same rule should follow for all. If a player hits another player high and gets 3 weeks, but the same tackle a month later gets 7 weeks, we'd all complain about consistency. This is the same thing. Such a light penalty (lets be honest, 12 points is really stuff all. that leaves (in a perfect world) another 40 points to make in the competition. How is that a punishment for cheating?
Brendon
Guest
Actually no, the Storm were gutted. Just off the top of my head, Jeff Lima, Ryan Hoffman (albiet resign) Anthony Quinn, Greg Inglis, Brett White, Brett Finch and Aiden Tolman, all of which left at the end of 2010 to get the team under the salary cap. In typical Craig Bellamy style we brought throw offs (Bryan Norrie, Jason Ryles, etc.) for next to nothing, turned them into gold and won in 2012. We weren't even given the option of getting under the cap in 2010.
Parrafan
Guest
They did the best they could in extraordinary circumstance. They didn't do that in the Storm case with good reason, because teams that play the Eels only once lose out. Don't forget at that point in time we had Watmough sitting on the sideline (700k) and we were only 500k over this years cap because the NRL added guaranteed payments for 2013-2015 onto the 2016 cap. It;s not like we had a team of internationals on the park. (Notation: In no way am I saying we shouldn't have copped what we did.)
Parrafan
Guest
"Thankfully Semi is injured". Great attitude to have...
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
Finals, not playoffs. Sorry turbo....small pet hate of mine.
turbodewd
Roar Guru
Mate, that is weak, the Storm punishment was meant to be the final punishment of this type - so severe that no other club would try to rort the system. In spite of this Parra tried and tried...they should be walloped for failing to respect and note the punishment the Storm got. Throw the book at the Eels, their 2016 campaign should be 0 pts now. It really should, if they make the playoffs that will be a joke. Thankfully Semi is injured, they are toast.
Chop
Roar Guru
The Storm were also not handing out bags of money to players in Car Parks. There were allegations at the time that this was happening, plus having boats/cars delivered without payment. FWIW The NRL has stuffed this up from the beginning and I agree that Parra should remain on 0 all season, because the two cases are scarily similar.