Eels Salary Cap MK III

[Eelementary]

I'd say Choc has known he's been done for a while and things have been put in place for him to get it all sorted out for a while.

You're probably right, but I still feel for him. In the spotlight for something out of his control.

 

[Chipmunk]

It will be interesting to see how this watmough things pans out ... i agree it is pointless for us to shed other players who have actively contributed tthis season on the off chance we might pull off a very difficult assignment

Surely the NRL know that if we dont get the watmough money then we likely write off the season and what harm is there then in challenging the rulings?

As I pointed out in my post earlier, Id say the NRL has already factored in the Watmough retirement as part of their decision. We'll suddenly be cap compliant early next week, if not sooner.

 

[Dibs]

As much as he is a club legend, he just took the easy way out. If he really cared he would offer his services in what ever capacity the club could use.

Oh bullsh*t

 

[strider]

Im rather surprised at the ease people have rolled over and totally accepted everything based on absoluetly f**k all actual evidence ... i have no idea if the nrl have any - but no one else has seen any yet

I dont doubt we have done stuff wrong - I am sure we are doing it just like every other club ... and we cant even cheat right - we f**ked up countless other things recently, so no doubt we have f**ked this too

BUT Im struggling to accept the scale of it

 

[Captain BF]

Has Watmough actually ever come out and said he's retiring or is he being pushed?

 

[ash411]

Well at this point in time the NRL has actually only issued the club with an allegation thay they have cheated the cap.

Guilt is still yet to be determined.

PS I'm certain we've done some dodgy stuff...just not to what extent yet.

Do you honestly think that Greenberg, fresh in his role as CEO of the NRL would throw a dodgy charge at one of the biggest clubs in the NRL only to have it turned over and him look like a complete idiot?

They have plenty of evidence, whether or not we will get to see it ourselves remains to be seen, I agree that it's probably not as bad as they're saying, they may have seen payments or TPA's that might have appeared sketchy, but under closer examination can be proven not so, but it doesn't change the fact that the board deliberately lied to and hid these things from the NRL.

If they've come at us this hard, they have it. If Greenberg has tried to persecute us with no/weak evidence and it comes out, his career is over. He won't risk that just because he wants to boot 5 guys off the board of a club he has no affiliation with.

 

[Djay]

Im rather surprised at the ease people have rolled over and totally accepted everything based on absoluetly f**k all actual evidence ... i have no idea if the nrl have any - but no one else has seen any yet

I dont doubt we have done stuff wrong - I am sure we are doing it just like every other club ... and we cant even cheat right - we f**ked up countless other things recently, so no doubt we have f**ked this too

BUT Im struggling to accept the scale of it

So am I.

The way it was presented yesterday by Greenberg made out as if we have committed murder. Everyone has heard that and thought that these idiots have been caught and deserve to be punished, by like you say and like some are saying, based on what evidence?

The media, Greenberg etc have made the magnitude of it to be HUGE, that instantly makes everyone believe them and roll over and accept any punishment, and that's exactly what they want, they don't want this to be a fight.

Of course we have done stuff wrong no doubt, but to what scale exactly?

 

[phantom eel]

Coming up to 10 years in America for Bernie Gurr... could be keen to come back and fix our little club?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/berniegurr

 

[Johnny88]

Who didnt let him go to what meeting? ... the 5 didnt let him go somewhere? Surely BA would just go, wtf you dont matter anymore[/

I don't matter anymore? Lol

 

[Chipmunk]

I'd say that that would constitute trying to cheat, yes.

If our cap was at maximum, or close to it, and we signed players anticipating Choc's retirement (ie: before he actually did retire, and therefore, before we were no longer responsible for his pay), then that could signal an intent to break the rules.

Conversely, why did the NRL happily sign off in Jennings' deal? Suggestions were made it's because we covered everything up, but investigations cleared us of wrongdoing prior to kickoff of season 2016.

From what I understand, the club was under the salary cap until the NRL determined that all out TPA's are dodgy and have to be included in the salary cap. They have also done this from what I can work out for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Reading between the lines of the NRL breach notice, this has only been determined in the last few days.

 

[Chipmunk]

Im rather surprised at the ease people have rolled over and totally accepted everything based on absoluetly f**k all actual evidence ... i have no idea if the nrl have any - but no one else has seen any yet

I dont doubt we have done stuff wrong - I am sure we are doing it just like every other club ... and we cant even cheat right - we f**ked up countless other things recently, so no doubt we have f**ked this too

BUT Im struggling to accept the scale of it

I'm with you on this one. Show me the evidence and I'm happy to believe it all.

 

[phantom eel]

That's actually a fair point. Our most recent signing was Michael Jennings, quite late in the pre-season. If we signed him (and others) in anticipation of losing Watmough to retirement then have we even tried to rort the cap?

Yes we have, and if the club had realised the risk of allegedly misrepresenting TPA amounts then we shouldn't have been greedy and signed Jennings a season early...

This could have all still blown up and been investigated but without the Jennings contract vakue we may have stayed under the cap - and potentially not lost our points? Copped a fine sure, and still had 5 directors/management driven out of town for th emisrepresnetations etc, but the argument that we amassed any competition points while over the cap may have been negated.

 

[Chipmunk]

Do you honestly think that Greenberg, fresh in his role as CEO of the NRL would throw a dodgy charge at one of the biggest clubs in the NRL only to have it turned over and him look like a complete idiot?

They have plenty of evidence, whether or not we will get to see it ourselves remains to be seen, I agree that it's probably not as bad as they're saying, they may have seen payments or TPA's that might have appeared sketchy, but under closer examination can be proven not so, but it doesn't change the fact that the board deliberately lied to and hid these things from the NRL.

If they've come at us this hard, they have it. If Greenberg has tried to persecute us with no/weak evidence and it comes out, his career is over. He won't risk that just because he wants to boot 5 guys off the board of a club he has no affiliation with.

He and the NRL board were under massive pressure from the media to do something to start with but in reality how much do they really have and who knows what substantial evidence they actually have got. I don't think his purpose of the punishment was to get rid of the 5 people, I doubt he really gives a toss about them to be honest, but he had to come up with something.

How much would Parra have actually cheated the cap if the NRL had not have determined that all out TPA's are now under the salary cap from 2013?

 

[Chipmunk]

Yes we have, and if the club had realised the risk of allegedly misrepresenting TPA amounts then we shouldn't have been greedy and signed Jennings a season early...

This could have all still blown up and been investigated but without the Jennings contract vakue we may have stayed under the cap - and potentially not lost our points? Copped a fine sure, and still had 5 directors/management driven out of town for th emisrepresnetations etc, but the argument that we amassed any competition points while over the cap may have been negated.

I think your forgetting the crucial point that the Roosters are paying a fair wack of MJ's salary for 2016 though.

 

[ash411]

So am I.

The way it was presented yesterday by Greenberg made out as if we have committed murder. Everyone has heard that and thought that these idiots have been caught and deserve to be punished, by like you say and like some are saying, based on what evidence?

The media, Greenberg etc have made the magnitude of it to be HUGE, that instantly makes everyone believe them and roll over and accept any punishment, and that's exactly what they want, they don't want this to be a fight.

Of course we have done stuff wrong no doubt, but to what scale exactly?

They said it on Tuesday, $3mil over 4 years.

There may be a lot that can be explained, and we have the chance to defend ourselves, and we will, we should. however, there's no chance that we will come out of this crystal clean.

To me, the amount to which they cheated doesn't matter to me at all. They cheated me, they cheated us, the NRL and BA and the team.

I'm not rolling over, but I'm not about to enter into some delusion that the club are going to be exonerated.

 

[IFR33K]

Late in the agm, a fan asked sharp if he'd stand down if it meant we could save our season. His answer was "yes".... Smmfingh

 

[strider]

They said it on Tuesday, $3mil over 4 years.

There may be a lot that can be explained, and we have the chance to defend ourselves, and we will, we should. however, there's no chance that we will come out of this crystal clean.

To me, the amount to which they cheated doesn't matter to me at all. They cheated me, they cheated us, the NRL and BA and the team.

I'm not rolling over, but I'm not about to enter into some delusion that the club are going to be exonerated.

Im not dellusional about being exonerated ... but the scale of it surely affects the penalty and whether we can get "cap compliant"

And why do you assume BA and the players are clean ... they are allowing everyone to talk about and run with stories of underhanded cash payments? Hard to imagine that wouldnt implicate players

 

[phantom eel]

Thinking about people's doubt about the claims we have intentionally/systematically not represented TPA aspects of our player contracts fairly etc, and wanting to see more proof before they believe it...

In my youth I received a traffic infringement notice in the post for running a red light. I remembered the intersection on the notice, and felt sure the camera flash that day was for the car that followed me through the lights, and that I had made it through on amber.

So I took up the offer on the back of the notice to pay $10 to receive photographic proof of my infringement, before I would decide to pay or challenge. A week later, I received a large glossy photo of my car triggering the camera as the red light appeared... silly me, should have realised that the notice was based on the photo and of course the extra detail wouldn't have changed my assessed breach.

The NRL have got us, arranging/guaranteeing TPAs instead of staying arms length, and inflating invoices etc. YEs, the cap and TPA system needs changing, yes other clubs probably do must of what we have been caught for as well. But the NRL wouldn't have come out with a flimsy accusation and harsh penalties for nothing - they would have been very careful they had the evidence required.

And the red light camera photo? I got my $10 worth by displaying it on the photo posters at my 21st .

 

[Chipmunk]

They said it on Tuesday, $3mil over 4 years.

There may be a lot that can be explained, and we have the chance to defend ourselves, and we will, we should. however, there's no chance that we will come out of this crystal clean.

To me, the amount to which they cheated doesn't matter to me at all. They cheated me, they cheated us, the NRL and BA and the team.

I'm not rolling over, but I'm not about to enter into some delusion that the club are going to be exonerated.

I think the 5 board/executive are a mob of incompetent fools (and always have been) and they've more likely than not been involved in some questionable activities.

However, from what I can gather from the information presented so far is that the only reason that the NRL alleges that we are $3 million over the salary cap since 2013 is because they have determined, only as recently as possibly last week, that all our TPA's during this period are now to be included under the salary cap. Well...this is a fairly major change of the goal posts in reality.

How much actual dodgy behavior went on is not known at this stage.

Hopefully all the evidence will be released to the public in good time.

 

[phantom eel]

I think your forgetting the crucial point that the Roosters are paying a fair wack of MJ's salary for 2016 though.

Yeah, I realised that after I typed it... but the point stands, we still shouldn't have been greedy enough to go after him for this season, given the alleged knowledge of our system of additional payments, inflated invoices, and non-arms length TPAs .