Were I a Melbourne Storm supporter, I’d be fuming at the apparent ‘kid gloves’ approach being taken towards the Cronulla Sharks.
Now, until a series of events play out, there’s no way of knowing what has happened and what the consequences will be for events that went down in the Shire over the past few years.
Maybe Shane Flanagan sent a few innocuous emails to mates at the club, enquiring after the health of their children, curious as to when pics from a recent holiday would be up on Insta (heaps likely).
Maybe these salary-cap rorting allegations will be found to be a case of accidental Excel. “No, we didn’t pay that bloke $311,015 – we paid him his regular salary on the 31st of October, 2015. Someone forgot to change the cell from ‘General’ to ‘Date’. Maureen, was this you again? Classic Maureen!”
And maybe all that really happened when Stephen Dank came to town was that he gave everyone some pep pills that were totally above board and there is – as we seem to keep being asked to believe – nothing to see here either.
Except we know there were things to see with that final aspect. Players were suspended – it was a weak-ass, back-dated suspension, but they still spent time on the sidelines – and Flanagan copped a 12-month ban for failing to properly oversee the governance of his side.
However, the coach apparently didn’t respect his ban and was allegedly in contact with the club during the year he was supposed to be persona non grata at Shark Park.
And Flanagan’s involvement with the club during his period in timeout was discovered because the NRL is in the process of delving into the Sharks’ salary cap issues – self-reported, lovely, but spanning both the 2015 and 2017 seasons.
As I said at the top, there’s no way of knowing how this all shakes out (well, except the part where the Sharks were on peptides back in the day, that bit we know for sure), but what if they’re all true?
(Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
What if Shane Flanagan completely disregarded his ban and had a hand in recruitment and retention at the club ahead of 2015?
And what if during 2015 and 2017, the club was secretly paying people under the table?
Put that on top of the fact a bunch of their players spent the 2011 season fuelled by banned substances, and you start to get a pretty rotten picture.
So the question I’m asking is: why do all reports on the issue keep saying the 2016 title is in no danger of being stripped?
A few months back, when news broke about the Sharks’ salary cap issues, I wrote about how the cap can’t be treated as a single-season prospect. You breach it in 2015, that means it has an effect on how things play out in 2016.
The same thing is true with recruitment and retention. It’s also the case for the use of performance-enhancing substances – in fact there’s a strong argument that those found guilty of using banned substances should be barred from professional sport for life, because that’s how long the benefits can last.
So let’s paint out a picture of the worst-case scenario.
A significant chunk of the team spend the 2011 season being administered banned substances.
As a result, the coach is banned from any involvement with the organisation for the 2014 season.
But he ignores that directive and oversees aspects of how the team will look for 2015 and beyond.
During that 2015 season, the club knowingly breaches the salary cap by way of false invoicing.
In 2016, the Sharks break one of the longest droughts in Australian sport by claiming their first premiership.
Then, in 2017, the club once again flouts the salary cap.
Now, I’m not saying the above is definitely what happened, but it’s certainly possible.
And if that is the way it all went down, do we honestly say that Cronulla’s 2016 grand final victory is fair and just?
I’ll leave Wade Graham and Paul Gallen’s suspensions for banned substances out of the argument because they did their time and they were fair participants in the 2016 decider.
But the coach may have ignored his sanctions to build the team that won that night.
And if the 2015 and ’17 salary caps are found to have been breached, well, are we honestly ready to say that the two years either side of their premiership year had zero bearing on the way Cronulla managed their 2016 cap?
I’m not saying the Sharks should have their premiership stripped. But if the worst-case scenario is the reality of the situation, why the hell do we keep hearing that their grand final win isn’t tainted? A club that was allegedly up to its neck in nefarious dealings from 2011 to 2017 just happened to be completely unimpeachable for one of those years? As if that year – the one that matters most – exists in a vacuum, impervious to all that happened around it?
The case against the Melbourne Storm was rock solid. They cheated and got the punishment they deserved as a result.
But if every wrongdoing that’s being levelled against Cronulla turns out to be true, surely questions need to be asked as to whether they deserve to keep their 2016 trophy.
Gus O
Roar Rookie
That horse has sailed. The NRL is already well established as the biggest butt of jokes in the Australian sporting world. It is the neverending gift that keeps on giving, hands down the worst executive administration of any “professional” sporting code in Australia.
AE47
Roar Rookie
Reject
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
He's grown in size in the last few years , he looked huge on the telly playing for the Raiders. Maybe Wayne is the one who can sort him out. It's a pretty disturbing reflection on his attitude that three clubs showed him the door so quickly.
Tom G
Guest
Knight certainly has promise as long as he is off the mortein
Tom G
Guest
It wouldn’t be a league forum without making Manly the villain in the story.
Tom G
Guest
I’m with you.. nothing winds me up more than the two Melbourne GF “wins” that most commentators in league seem to forget were stripped titles now.
JN
Roar Rookie
The Rabbitohs also. Man, they aren’t talked about as much, but their squad is particularly overpowered. I bet Shane ritchardson and Russell Crowe cheat the cap
Danielle!
Guest
Except or accept?
Mark Davidson
Guest
Reg Reagan: “but Bennett won’t except anything less“ ?? Don’t you mean ACCEPT?
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
They may not have been over the cap in 2016 but dodgy deals leading up to that season allowed them to build their roster and win with an illegally acquired squad. Turn the porch light back on
Reg Reagan
Roar Rookie
Yes, it’s his 4th club (Sea Eagles, Roosters, Raiders and now Rabbitohs). A talented young kid with plenty of potential (like many, many others who never made it in the NRL). From what I hear he isn’t the hardest trainer but Bennett won’t except anything less so he should have an impact on turning the kid’s career around IF he really wants to work to save it.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Liam Knight is young enough to get a start at every club in the NRL . His fourth club I believe.
Reg Reagan
Roar Rookie
Off topic but the Rabbitohs have confirmed the signings of Liam Knight and Cory Denniss for 2019.
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
If they get stripped of the premiership, say goodbye to the sharkies forever!
Rob
Guest
Wasn’t Dank working for Des at that time?
Rob
Guest
All developed by the Storm, unlike Lewis, Ennis and Maloney all state of Origin Rep players and a DM winner B.Barba a promising and sort after Sam Tagataese which becomes a bit fishy when you throw in Gallen, Fifita, Prior, Bird and Wade Graham. Really good recruiting or offering more than others clubs could?
14-12
Guest
- Flanagan was allowed to inquire about the 2015 season during the ban. It was only the then current 2014 season he wasn't to be involved in. - the peptides were taken for 5 weeks in 2011, a season where the sharks finished in the bottom 4. - the only salary cap discretion was one payment to heighington in 2015. Dumbest article ever written. Next.
Simon G
Guest
It might seem a little harsh on fans, but the aim of having this rule would be to not have anymore cap breaches. Which administration would honestly take a gamble on their club's future, with expulsion hanging over their heads? The A-League may not have a TV deal the size of the NRL, but they still do play out of the same stadiums for the most part, so obviously it can be done. A Brisbane 2.0 team would easily be able to play out of Suncorp. You have listed all the reasons why a new team wouldn't fit there, but a quick check online will show you that there has been 1 solitary concert played there during the NRL season since 2006. So you have about 25 events (7 or 8 Reds games during the NRL season, 12 Broncos games, an Origin and a couple of Roar matches over 25 weeks), and you're telling me that the stadium bosses wouldn't have room for another tenant? Continuing with your Brisbane 2.0 questions, Brisbane is a city of about 2.5million people, surely a city that size can support a second team, believe it or not there are people in Brisbane who can't stand the Broncos and would love another team in the city to follow. In regards to the sponsorship query, the Sharks are struggling to get sponsorship in an over saturated market with 18 major competition male teams (9 NRL teams, 2 AFL, 2 about to be 3 A-League, 2 Big Bash, 1 Super Rugby, 1 Basketball) compared to 6 Brisbane teams in total. There would be sponsors lining up in Brisbane, especially with the amount of free to air coverage Queensland teams enjoy. Like I said, you would hope that clubs would be smart enough to not let it get to this situation, but something needs to be done because the penalties in place at the moment are obviously not enough of a deterrent for clubs to run the gauntlet.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
"Should be striped". Are you inferring they should be zebras in lieu of sharks?
Nat
Roar Guru
We agree on ONE thing, the punishments should be significantly harsher than what they are. It seems only if you win a premiership that an appropriate measure is handed down. They can overspend on a dream team this year, get caught, become compliant by unloading you don't want and keep the stars for a successful following season - That's BS. Why should the fans suffer due to the board, coach and management misconduct? A proper punishment is to dismiss all those immediately and dissolve the agreement between player and manager. The fans pay the bills and have little emotional connection to staffers as they do the club colours. What you've outlined (and I applaud the concept just not the practicality) is an oversimplification of what's truly involved. The A League example is not a true indication as you are comparing a $130m comp (approx) to a $1.2b. Say the Parra get kicked out, who pays the contract they had with the stadium owners? They are transplanted as Brisbane 2.0, where do they play? Broncos are there every other week, so are the Reds, Origins and Internationals of both codes, local sporting events, concerts... all planned many months in advance. Who in Brisbane supports/turns out to watch that team even if they find a stadium to play? Who sponsors this transplanted team? Before you come back with 'they'll find someone' ask the Sharks. They won a premiership 2 years ago yet cannot find a financial friend. No money - they're gone and everything else falls into a hole behind it. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for expansion and less teams in Sydney but to say you cheat, the club is finished only punishes the fans and doesn't have a viable alternative. Sack those who who broke the rules but don't destroy the history of a long, proud club on the basis of the few who are only there for a few years at best.