Cam Smith is right. There. I said it.
If the Sharks don’t have their 2016 Premiership stripped for their salary cap breaches then the Storm should have the 2007 and 2009 titles returned.
There is no question that Cam Smith is one of the best league players I have ever seen. He is certainly the best hooker I’ve ever seen.
He is also one of the best captains I’ve ever seen and it is a no brainer that he will be made an immortal as soon as the rules allow it. We should just give it to him now it’s so clear cut.
However, a few things he has done have poisoned the way I feel about him. Firstly, the always winning thing got old a while ago.
While the Purple People down at AAMI Park might love his 70 per cent plus winning ratio, for me – along with lots of other NRL fans – the novelty of his incessant success wore off over a decade ago.
The grapple tackles were pretty low rent and he was at the forefront of that wonderful tactic – at very least in its execution. Then there was the little matter of him and the Storm’s systematic and cynical cheating of the salary cap. Further, there was him deliberately targeting an opponent’s injury – off the ball and from behind.
It’s safe to say that I’m not his biggest fan and that he also really doesn’t care what I think anyway.
So when I say that he’s right that the Sharks should have their 2016 Premiership stripped for their salary cap breaches or the Storm should have the 2007 and 2009 titles officially returned, you should know it isn’t through any great affection I have for the bloke.
Cameron Smith of the Storm looks on during the 2018 NRL grand final. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
He is just right.
How can one side be punished so harshly while another isn’t. Surely that’s not fair.
Let’s remember that the Sharks side that contested the 2016 NRL Grand Final was the most experienced side – cumulative game wise – to ever contest a decider. Collectively they had 2742 NRL games between them.
Staying within the salary cap would have made that much harder to do no doubt. In a game that was heavily in the balance until the final siren, it is a fair bet to say that experience was very valuable.
Just as valuable as the Storm having experienced campaigners such as Clint Newton and Michael Crocker in their 2007 side at least.
So why should the Sharks not be stripped while the Storm were? There is no good reason I can see.
The Sea Eagles got thumped last year when their breaches were uncovered. They are still dealing with the punishments that were meted out. If they had actually won anything during that period I believe they should have been stripped of that too.
I have wasted so much time and effort railing against the non-enforcement of rules in the NRL – be they on field or off – only to realise that, for example, the NRL does not care if your blue shirt trainer is on field coaching, even though it’s in their own rules that they can’t.
As well, I believe that the salary cap is only a façade and that any club that wants to be successful in the NRL can’t actually abide by it.
I’d love the system to be fair, above board and equitable. I’d love the playing field to be fair. I’d love the rules to be properly enforced. But it isn’t and they aren’t. The Real Politic is you have most likely got to cheat/ bend the rules/ get creative to be competitive in the NRL.
However, you have to be professional and discreet about it.
If you get caught – as the Storm were, as the Sea Eagles were – you will get punished.
You have broken the 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not get caught.”
We now await what punishment the NRL will dish out to the Sharks. Cam Smith wants it to be in line with what his side endured and that’s fair enough.
I personally think that the Sharks should keep their 2016 title – minus any winnings that went with it – but that the Storm should also be given their premierships back too.
Firstly, you can’t really strip a side of a title without awarding it to another side and who is to say that The Sea Eagles would have won in 2007, or the Eels in 2009, or the Storm in 2016?
We can’t. So you can’t just award the title to the runner up.
Hey Paul, what about a Sharks-Dragons merger? (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
And while you can stop a team name being attributed against those three seasons as much as you want, we all still know the Storm and the Sharks won those Grand Finals.
Further, it’s my opinion that they probably beat lots of sides who were also breaking the cap too, maybe just not as well.
So let them keep those titles.
Just rename them.
Much like “The artist formerly known as Prince” and how we now refer to a “King Hit” as a “coward punch,” those titles should be renamed.
For example: “The Storm’s 2009 title they won by massively busting the salary cap” or “The Sharks 2016 title where they assembled the team by cheating.”
Put those titles in the official records.
The Storm and the Sharks can have those titles as far as I’m concerned, as long as we call a spade a f#@king shovel.
And any other NRL Premier – past or future – that is busted should be treated just the same.
But whatever Todd and his mob at NRL HQ decide to do, it should give equal treatment to all of the busted cheats.
Now – finally – let’s watch some footy!
Reesy
Roar Rookie
Most arguments I hear for “consistency” of punishments across different subjects are fallacious. That would imply consistency in the nature and magnitude of offences. There is such a thing as degrees of behaviour. Not all murderers get the same sentence for example. Putting aside whether or not the Storm’s cheating was worse than the Sharks they occurred under different administrations who decided the respective punishments based on their own lens and view of the matters at those points in time. It’s not for Greenberg to go back and say he disagreed with Gallops handling of the Storm situation nor would he have the facts to do so.
Don
Roar Rookie
Geez mate...google is your friend. Look up Wayne Carey domestic violence. The St Kilda schoolgirl was emailed naked photos of 3 players by a player. Initially she lied about taking them all herself but was sent them by one player who she apparently hooked up with. The manager, Nixon, then pursued her after.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Compare the pair Nat... Rabbitohs record: Premierships: 21 Runners-up: 13 Minor premierships: 17 World Club Challenge: 1 Most recent premiership: 2014 Last premiership: 4 years 2018 season: 3rd (3rd after finals) Broncos record: Premierships: 5 Runners-up: 1 Minor premierships: 3 World Club Challenge: 1 Most recent premiership: 2006 Last premiership: 12 years 2018 season: 6th (7th after finals) Like I said, "game, set and match!" ;-)
Nat
Roar Guru
Game, set & match by citing games Souths weren't involved in? The drubbing the Saints gave them was terrible but I understand your excitement just to make it, I mean it had been 3 years since Souths seen Sept football. But I won't go back too far, tell me the score between the Broncos v Souths last year? Jelly men tore you boys a new one - twice! You gotta do better than that mate, these little debates are like kicking the dog: easy target but weirdly satisfying!! ;)
tingo tango
Guest
Just so we all know Brett what is your qualifications and experience that allow you to call the NRL a joke amateur competition? Run a few large companies or organisations yourself? Doubt it because if you did you would appreciate what it takes to do so. Somehow they have lost you but here you are reading and commenting on the game. Again just a lot of meaningless words. I see Fox Leagues numbers were up 27% on the first round last year. Seems not as many people are leaving as you claim.
Brian George
Guest
"... the NRL runs a sports entertainment company that involves rugby league"... and sex tapes, drug scandals and violence towards women.
Brian George
Guest
James, The first person to have mentioned Married At First Sight is you...
Jay Wright
Roar Rookie
Wayne Carney only banged his bests mates wife, no sex tape or violence. St Kilda school girl, was that the one that hooked up with Revolt’s agent??? What did the others do??
Don
Roar Rookie
AFL domestic assault; Shannon Grant. Nick Stevens, Justin Murphy, Wayne Carey, Liam Jurrah, Chris Yarran and a few more... Sex tapes / images? Remember St Kilda schoolgirl? Well before we were hearing about NRL ones...
Jay Wright
Roar Rookie
I am
Nat
Roar Guru
Ok, I'll remove the tongue from my cheek when you discover sarcasm.
Onside
Guest
OK; just say 12 clubs not 9, sort of halfway. Very strong competition, a lot more interesting than what we have now. There's also the possibility in a decade or so, of a second div of say 10 or 12 teams. Those who believe it either can or can't be done are both right.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
"How can one side be punished so harshly while another isn’t" Easy, the extent of the crime
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
So Cameron wants the titles back. He has been nicknamed "The Accountant" so he should the defence that "some businesses have two sets of books so why can't a footy club?''
fuzhou
Roar Rookie
"He is certainly the best hooker I’ve ever seen." Given the fact that Cam Smith has played most, if not all, his career in the era of "bendovers" (scrums?) I would wager that Smith has never actually hooked for the ball in a scrum in his life. Great player to be sure, and a terrific ambassador for the game in Melbourne, but you cannot compare him to those who've hooked for the ball in the days when scrums were contested.
jacko
Guest
Tom the Warriors self reported after new management took over...Just like the sharks...And the amount over the cap was around the same...Warriors around 850K i think....yet the Warriors had 4 points deducted for the next season...How many points have the Sharks had deducted for this season? With the peptides and now this it is looking like the Sharks are receiving some very preferential treatment yet again
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
more infringements that went unpenalised...
jacko
Guest
Barry i 100% agre that it is not right for a team that was so deliberate in its deception to have the title handed back but the Sharks issue could have been just as deliberate and they got to keep their premiership as it was not the current crop of administrators that did the nasty deed.....Also I am concerned that a team on the cusp of the top 4 could deliberately buy a 700K and a 500k player and that may give them just enough boost to win the comp....They will be over the cap by about the same as the sharks and so it will have been a wise investment. as the rewards from sponsors will far outway the fines
Nick
Roar Guru
Throw away the cap, and we'll have a nine team competition inside a decade. This is why people should ignore this type of comment. Canberra, Newcastle, North Queensland, Warriors, Tigers, Sharks, Manly would fold within 5 years. St George and Penrith would be circling the drain. All that would be left would be clubs like Easts, Brisbane, Melbourne, Parramatta, Canterbury. Clubs with deeper pockets than most that could afford to pay the big salaries for the best. it wouldn't be like the Premier League, where middling clubs are still large enough to generate sustainable profits. NRL clubs would go broke, very very quickly. You have to look at the annual reports of these clubs. Canterbury as a football club only survives because of NRL handouts and ginormous poker machine revenues. The football arm has been loss making for years.
Nick
Roar Guru
Warney was suspended for doping during his career. Warney's text messages with a litany of women was during his career. Warney taking money for pitch information was during his career. How could you possibly say 'most' was after his retirement? Turning his life into a soap opera was post-retirement, but the serious scandals were all while he was a player! OJ is not a bad example. It's a text book example. The NFL could easily have wiped him from the hall of fame, yet they chose to look at his years as a player and nothing else. The comparison to Andrew Johns is therefore accurate. Johns as a player was phenomenal. Johns as a person, deeply flawed. Btw, again, that's another completely misplaced grievance. The NRL had absolutely no say on whether Johns became an immortal. Those decisions were made before the NRL took on the immortal awarding. Jay, Your frustrations are understandable. I agree with many, and I'm sure others do as well. They are just fundamentally aimed at the wrong institution. People aren't here to listen to someone continually talk about how uninterested they are about a sport they are interested in. The fact that you are posting indicates you very much remain interested. for lack of a better phrase, put up or shut up. If you are that disinterested, then walk away from the forum for good.