Melbourne Storm CEO Dave Donaghy has called on the ARL Commission to revisit the decision to strip his side of two premierships last decade.
The Storm were found to have rorted the salary cap between 2006 and 2010 and in the process had their 2007 and 2009 premierships taken off them.
Donaghy said the way the Storm were treated - they had their premierships stripped the same week they were found to have breached the cap - was different to the way that clubs in similar strife are now handled.
Sharks skipper Paul Gallen earlier on Sunday told Channel 9 he would quit if the Cronulla titles were taken away from the club and warned the Storm to be careful what they wished for because reopening the investigation into their salary cap breaches could uncover more rorts.
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"I think it is important to take Cameron’s comments ... it wasn’t coming out and saying the Cronulla Sharks should have their premierships stripped," Donaghy said at Melbourne Storm's family day on Sunday.
"It's a case of having the view the way the Storm were treated a decade ago was vastly different to others.
"That is not saying what Melbourne Storm did at the time was right or wrong as it certainly wasn’t right.
"We think what happened back in the day was clearly vastly different to what the way some clubs these days are treated."
Donaghy wouldn't get drawn into the debate about whether Storm should have their two premierships reinstated, instead calling on the ARLC to make a decision on the issue.
"I think at some point there will be a re-assessment given the way the current administration is viewing salary cap breaches," he said.
"That’s something for the commission at some point and it’s not for us.
"It’s something at Melbourne Storm that will forever bubble away in the background, but that’s not a priority for us at this stage as our priority is Thursday night."
Replies
Yes remember this was the same club who got caught drug cheating only a few years earlier. And while the Eels created false invoices for 3rd parties the Sharks created a whole company!!. I hate the Storm, but I’m hating the Sharks and their mouth piece even more.
Absolutely no remorse whatsoever from this Melbourne dope or Cam Smith - this is the sort of attitude that gets you a long sentence if you are in the legal system.
He never makes mention of Parramatta's 2016 punishment because all they really give a f*ck about is themselves. They also make no mention of the teams that had a legitimate shot at the title (such as Parra in '09) but were denied it because of Melbourne's cheating. He is right in that the '07 and '09 premierships should be revisted - they should both be retrospectively awarded to the runners up - just as they should have been in the first place.
Gallen's the same as Smith - no humility or remorse just disrespectful dribble that no one wants to hear. What about an apology for the way Cronulla have conducted themselves over the last 7 or so seasons? I suppose he's just like Cam Smith and never had any clue about what was going on (lol - please).
As Wongy said - it's little wonder the public are turning off the game en masse. Over the last off season I have spoken to more people than ever who have simply lost the passion.
100% Spot On Kramerica! Those stripped premierships should go to Manly and Parra respectfully!
How do we get these useless idiots that run our club to campaign for the 09 premiership?
This rubbish turns you away from the game! Beattie, Greenburg and the rest of the NRL executive need to go!
Cam smith the greatest grub to play the game. I don't think he is serious I think he is just trying to put pressure on the NRL for the weak punishment on the sharks. Still he can get fucked
Most fans perception of salary cap cheating is probably similar to that on doping in the tour de France you'd probably have to go back to the team that finishes 5th or 6th to find the club that wasn't over the cap. Now the NRL has just told every other club well if you cheat the cap , win a comp and self report you can keep the title. That will be a great deterrent.
With the NRL leadership at the moment I wouldn't be holding my breath for anything to change the status quo anytime soon sadly things will remain as they are. There will be a 4-5 teams stacked with rep players and 3-4 who struggle to sign one all the while they try to tell you it is the most even the comp has ever been .
Cam Smith signed 2 contracts. And the Storm hid the second contract at Brian Waldron’s house. There was nothing subtle whatsoever about The Storm’s cheating and if you sign two contracts well you’re in on it too. Maybe if Smith was suspended from the game like officials were, he’d be a little more conciliatory now.
With the Sharks cap issues surely the nrl must now acknowledge that the entire cap system is broken???? The entire player payment system needs to be thrown out and a new, simpler, harder to manipulate system needs to be introduced.
The nrl competition is now purely a competition between club administrators on who can cheat the most without being caught.
Smith is kidding himself if he seriously thinks the Storm should be awarded those premierships after exceeding the cap by $303,000 in 2006, $459,000 in 2007, $957,000 in 2008, $1.021 million in 2009 and $1.04 million in 2010. Not just for the amounts but the way it was done.
The only thing I would say is those who are found to have systemically exceeded the cap should receive harsh penalties. Parra included. Mainly because despite the penalties that were issued to the Storm some clubs have continued to try to cheat the cap.
I have given this some thought and beyond my initial reaction of sucked in you got what you deserved and players should've been criminally charged with fraud, I have this to say.........
How arrogant of a club to think that the best use of a commision's time is to revisit events that happened 5-10 years ago where the verdict was given and the game moved on!
The game has plenty of other issues to deal with to ensure its longevity without wasting its time responding to the whinging of a club who are still enormously successful despite the fact they have been found guilty of cheating numerous times.
Let's get on with 2019 and may the best cap-compliant team win.