Comments from the Super Coach...

Though I have been a Parramatta supporter all my life, I would say I only have a reasonable knowledge of NRL football, more specifically it's administration and behind the scenes goings ons. Personally, I am a Swans tragic but am a sports fan in general and enjoy watching a variety of sports. By no means am I an expert but I would like to make a few points relating to this Melbourne Storm scandal:

1. This whole salary cap issue - yes, they breached it but is it really an absolute necessity for the game? It seems everyone is always whinging that they can't afford this player or they need to cut that player, or there is no room for new talent because they have maxed out their salary cap limits. Pardon the ignorance but if they treated the footy club like a business and had a solid sponsorship manager, would it not be possible to raise as much sponsorship money as possible to fund whomever they wanted to field the best team possible? Why do they need a cap? Couldn't each club be responsible for securing the talents of the best possible players for their own team and then if they fail to make the grade, it's their own fault in their recruitment process?
   
2. Having said that, if a club recruits some mighty talented youngsters who end up becoming superstars as a result of their growth at that one particular club, why should that club have to let them go just because they can't go over a budget set by an outside body? I would be pretty angry if I had trained someone up to be the best player in the game and to then be forced to move them on to a lesser team after I had put in the hard yards getting them to that level. These elite players are worth the big numbers being thrown around and why shouldn't they be entitled to those payments when they won't be working until the usual retirement age and need to make as much as they can, while they can? Maybe then we wouldn't lose more players to other codes or to overseas clubs?
   
3. The downside of course if we have unlimited salaries for the rising stars is that we may end up with a bigger bunch of overpaid cocky little buggers who would probably do alot more damage in their downtime with too much time on their hands and deeper pockets (a good club development team and alcohol education programmes could & should help balance this problem).
   
4. Now before all you members of the smaller clubs start banging on about how unfair it is for smaller teams that can't raise as much money, or are not as advantaged as the bigger clubs, like any other successful business, I say suck it up and find a good sponsorship manager to do the bidding for you and you could begin to bring yourselves up to par with the bigger clubs. There are plenty of big businesses out there with money to spend so it is just a matter of hiring the right person to track them down
5. Though a Parramatta fan and of the opinion that Parramatta was robbed in 2009 (biased, much?), I think it is a silly notion to simply hand over the trophy to Manly & Parramatta for the lost premierships - I doubt the players would feel satisfied with that either
   
6. As for the harsh punishment, parts of the decision are fair with the exception of the decision to deem Melbourne ineligible to accrue further points for the 2010 season. Yes, they cheated up until this point however once the salary cap is sorted out, and they bring things back in line with the other clubs under the current salary cap arrangement, why can't they come back into the competition? Perhaps with a handicap, say the equivalent of the points they had already accrued but in negative? They will start out at a disadvantage anyway so it's less likely they make the finals but if they do, they have still made the changes and would be back on par. I do feel bad for the players who are left to play for a team that is effectively going nowhere. Why bother, you ask? It is also a shame for their fans who have paid alot of money in memberships and season tickets. Unless the whole team was in on the fraud, which I am wondering if this is a reasonable assumption, why should all the team be punished for the actions of a few?
7. On that point, leaving the punishment as is, if the Storm go on to win every game between now and the finals, and the teams they played obviously get no points as well, given the Storm have been branded as cheats, wouldn't the other teams be dirty that they may have at least got 2 points for a bye or forfeit, rather than just a trouncing?
   
8. I am big on conspiracy theories and having a background in accounting find it hard to believe that all players were oblivious to the deception - yes, they are footballers and though some have about the same IQ as my 3 year old, it would be naive to assume the alleged rort was unbeknownst to everyone. Having said that, it was either a very sophisticated scheme or a more Underbelly-esque paperbag-under-the-table operation. If it was option B, then we are dealing with some very stupid individuals for thinking that they would not get caught out one day.

As I said, I am no Phil Gould or Peter Stirling and my information may be a little off base so please feel free to leave comments and correct me if I am wrong. As a mum, my main issue is with our children's sporting hero's constantly bringing their sports into disrepute and leaving us to pick up the pieces and explain to our children why their favourite team has no shot at the premiership this season or why their favourite player is not playing anymore. When will it all end? It makes the Matty Johns sex scandal seem like stealing an ice block from the school tuck shop....