Spiff
I have the power
That's the thing, isn't it? Hopefully that doesn't happen, though. I'm sure if the Broncos had been breaching the cap then they would have been able to keep Tuqiri and Walker.
Bulldogs are out....
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Stevo
Coming soon...
Goreripper... I don't think the NRL know what to do either. I think they'll decide when/if it happens, as the situation is so unprecedented in today's game.
Spiff... Adam Dykes *is* out for the season -- he's had a shoulder reconstruction. I'm not sure on Solomona either, I think it's ankle or knee injury. Drew should be at halfback, and chuck Buettner at five-eighth (this is providing that Vaealeki (?) & Burt are available for centres, and Hodgson/Mogg are available for fullback).
As for the 'Dogs... the players are innocent but the club's administration isn't. Being an Eels fan it makes me smile to hear that they won't be in the finals... however, I think it absolutely sucks that the fans have been ripped off purely by no fault of their own. It'll be interesting to see the final outcome of all of this (incl. the ICAC report), as will findings of any other club possibly rorting the system. Interesting indeed...!
Spiff... Adam Dykes *is* out for the season -- he's had a shoulder reconstruction. I'm not sure on Solomona either, I think it's ankle or knee injury. Drew should be at halfback, and chuck Buettner at five-eighth (this is providing that Vaealeki (?) & Burt are available for centres, and Hodgson/Mogg are available for fullback).
As for the 'Dogs... the players are innocent but the club's administration isn't. Being an Eels fan it makes me smile to hear that they won't be in the finals... however, I think it absolutely sucks that the fans have been ripped off purely by no fault of their own. It'll be interesting to see the final outcome of all of this (incl. the ICAC report), as will findings of any other club possibly rorting the system. Interesting indeed...!
JonBonJovi
Titilate
Spiff
I have the power
JonBonJovi
Titilate
As far as I know they get fined the amount the breached the salary cap by,plus more.The board must stand down and could face fines themselves. The club looses a whole heap of points.
No club however has ever breached it by this astronimical amount that the dogs have.
No club however has ever breached it by this astronimical amount that the dogs have.
I wonder if there was any other option in the end, a fine and loss of a few points isnt enough and stripping points off them next year would be pointless because they will be back under the salary cap.
I cant think of any other punishment they could have used really...
The biggest shame is it lets one more mediocre team into the top 8 now, which, while good for that teams fans, just means pretty much another walkover for the top 4 teams
I cant think of any other punishment they could have used really...
The biggest shame is it lets one more mediocre team into the top 8 now, which, while good for that teams fans, just means pretty much another walkover for the top 4 teams
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
That simply isn't good enough. The game's administrators should have known right from the start that with the amount of money that goes into clubs from corporate sponsorship, memberships, gambling, private contributions etc. that something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, and they should have been prepared for it. It seems to me that the whole NRL was put together so hastily in the wake of the Super League fiasco that they still haven't sorted it all out yet. The fact that a club could be in flagrant abuse of the rules for almost two years is proof that something just isn't right somewhere.
The question now is, what's to become of all the money that went into betting on the Bulldogs to take out the premiership, minor premiership, etc.? The salary cap issue aside, the 'Dogs were unbeatable for the minor premiership and an almost certain bet to win the competition. With all bets off, millions will be lost and gambling on future NRL competitions will be thrown into turmoil for years to come.
The greatest shame to come out of this is that the Bulldogs (the team) won 17 games straight this season. Regardless of how much they were being paid, that's an almost unprecedented achievement and I'll be very surprised if it happens again in a very long time. But it all amounts to nothing now because the Bulldogs (the club) are crooked. Nothing the club or the team ever does in the future, and almost nothing they've done in the past, will be remembered as much as this.
Spiff
I have the power
Well, now the NRL has set the precedent, so if clubs go over the cap this much and try to hide it (which is the difference between the Doggies and the other teams that have gone over the cap a bit) then we can fully expect the NRL to fine them like they did yesterday.
Yes, the NRL has been pretty substandard since Super League. David Moffett was a deadset goose and him quitting was the best thing that could have happened. David Gallop isn't a rugby union guy like Moffett was - he actually loves the game and has done so all his life, so he has a real interest in what happens. It's a pity it's happened in his first year, but I think he's acquited himself admirably this week.
Yes, the NRL has been pretty substandard since Super League. David Moffett was a deadset goose and him quitting was the best thing that could have happened. David Gallop isn't a rugby union guy like Moffett was - he actually loves the game and has done so all his life, so he has a real interest in what happens. It's a pity it's happened in his first year, but I think he's acquited himself admirably this week.
But they hid the money very well, the only reason they found it was because there was a seperate search into the Liverpool stadium thing, they had set up seperate books, different management companies etc. It was all being sent through those before a player was paid, now the players didnt know, they just got their money, but when a club goes to those lengths, there isnt much anyone can do to stop it really. You said it yourself, with all the private sponserships etc. how could they keep track? What if the club administrators sorted out a deal with a sponser that gave a player an endorsement? The player doesnt know there was a deal, he just knows the company approached him to endorse a product, you cant track that...
I dont think its the NRLs fault that the Bulldogs did it, the club administrators knew the penalties and brought this on themselves.
They were 600000 over the cap, thats a lot of money and a huge advantage, take that off them, they wouldnt have won 17 games in a row IMHO, that could top up 6 great players of the Anasta/Mason variety with an extra 100000 a year.
You are right though, they are going to be remembered for this more than anything else for a VERY long time...
I dont think its the NRLs fault that the Bulldogs did it, the club administrators knew the penalties and brought this on themselves.
They were 600000 over the cap, thats a lot of money and a huge advantage, take that off them, they wouldnt have won 17 games in a row IMHO, that could top up 6 great players of the Anasta/Mason variety with an extra 100000 a year.
You are right though, they are going to be remembered for this more than anything else for a VERY long time...
Spiff
I have the power
The worst thing about this whole debacle is that Souths won't get the wooden spoon this year. That's just not right.
Southy
Proud Brisbane Metaller
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
Why not? Easts won 19 in a row. Manly won 15 in a row. And they did it in the days when players worked through the week and played footy on weekends. HOw much a team gets paid doesn't have anything to do with their performance. When the Eels restructed their team a few years ago, they spent more money on players than any other club and they barely made the finals.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
The NRL is a fucking joke, and this whole scandal proves it. No other club will ever get caught like this because they'll all be more careful laundering (ahem...) their money.
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
And again, it's going to be the players who suffer. Guys like Hazim el Masri and Willie Talau are pretty decent blokes. Talau comes down and watches his wife play Oztag through the week and is a really down to earth guy. How do you think they're going to feel for the rest of the season knowing that they've been robbed of premiership glory because of their own club's mismanagement and corruption? It's one thing to lose a grand final to a better team on the day, but the 'Dogs were beaten by their own club! If I was a Bulldogs player, I'd be thinking twice about running onto a field for them ever again. I'd just walk on the field, wave to the fans, and let the other team run over and score.
weetbix
Gimmee Caffeine
If I was a bulldogs player I would be having a few "words" with certain players that it is public knowledge that they took extra payments.
I dont care what you say - but players *had* to know something was up. When their contract states "you will be paid this much" and they get that much from the club and then a bunch more from another source with some other excuse.....
Unless they were thick enough to believe the other excuse.
The funniest thing about all this though? A New Zealand team on top of the NRL Go Warriors!
I dont care what you say - but players *had* to know something was up. When their contract states "you will be paid this much" and they get that much from the club and then a bunch more from another source with some other excuse.....
Unless they were thick enough to believe the other excuse.
The funniest thing about all this though? A New Zealand team on top of the NRL
Go Warriors!
Goreripper
Metal as fuck
What do players know? These days they don't even negotiate their contracts themselves. Lawyers do it for them, and lawyers aren't exactly the most scrupulous people on the planet. Some players probably don't even know how much money they're actually getting paid. It's not like a wage where you get a slip every week that tells you how much is going into your account.
Without the players they have, the team would have a different chemistry, it only takes one or two injuries to players to show how much they can mean to a whole tem (take out say, Anasta and El Masri and you will see what I mean)
The Bulldogs team would be markedly different to the team on the park if they had stayed under the salary cap, thats what I meant
I have to disagree there weetbix, I dont think the players would have had any clue it was going on at all!
They would have been paid what was stated on their contract and no more. But the money for that payment was half the club and say half a sponser, and the club would be saying they only pay him as much as they contribute, and leaving the sponser payment out completely.
They would have been paid what was stated on their contract and no more. But the money for that payment was half the club and say half a sponser, and the club would be saying they only pay him as much as they contribute, and leaving the sponser payment out completely.
D'OH! To the Raiders credit they held off a Bulldogs comeback and won 38-34. The first 20 mins was disgraceful, as the Raiders were up 18-0. But even when the dogs were behind by only 2, i could tell from their body language that they weren't really in it.
