Crusher
Coach
- Messages
- 11,482
Any genuine rugby league fan should feel sympathy for the Storm. When I say the Storm I am referring to the players and officials that have been responsible for developing this team into the best in the league over the last few seasons.
The conversations in the media, forums and around the water cooler in the past week have focused on the fact that the storm are cheats. Let’s make one thing clear. The cheats are the small number of individuals who went to extraordinary lengths to rort the system. Assuming the players and staff knew nothing then we should not and cannot tarnish them with the same brush.
The fact is that the Melbourne Storm have developed and nurtured young talent better than any other club in the last 10 years. You only have to look at Folau, Inglis, Smith and so on to see a group of players who left the comfort of home to start their careers as teenagers in a foreign land dominated by AFL. You then need to look at how successful they have become as a result of how well the Storm is run.
As a Manly fan I should have every right to say that we were ripped off in 2007. Parramatta fans probably feel the same.
As a fan of the game however I believe that the deficiencies in the game have rorted the Melbourne Storm.
The problem is that the words salary cap and loyalty will never fit in the same sentence. How can any club ever hope to find, nurture and grow talent under the current salary cap arrangements when they are forced to let them go as soon as they become stars? What culture does this breed?
I believe the events of the past week have been a blessing in disguise. Harsh yes, but they have highlighted the major deficiencies of the salary cap.
The game will only survive if young talent continues to be discovered. We all talk about how important loyalty is but unfortunately these days all but a few players are… through no fault of their own. The cap forbids it.
We’ve heard a million solutions to the problem but one such solution that is crystal clear is that major concessions to the cap need to be made to encourage loyalty and that requires the NRL to put their money where their mouth is. I believe if a club has developed a player from a young age then they should be given every concession to keep them. THe NRL generates over $100m every year from the game so surely there is room do do so.
Let’s save our anger for a few wrong doing individuals but let’s praise the Storm for how well they have demonstrated player development. I may 'hate' the Storm when they play Manly but I can only admire them for what they have shown can be done for the game.
The conversations in the media, forums and around the water cooler in the past week have focused on the fact that the storm are cheats. Let’s make one thing clear. The cheats are the small number of individuals who went to extraordinary lengths to rort the system. Assuming the players and staff knew nothing then we should not and cannot tarnish them with the same brush.
The fact is that the Melbourne Storm have developed and nurtured young talent better than any other club in the last 10 years. You only have to look at Folau, Inglis, Smith and so on to see a group of players who left the comfort of home to start their careers as teenagers in a foreign land dominated by AFL. You then need to look at how successful they have become as a result of how well the Storm is run.
As a Manly fan I should have every right to say that we were ripped off in 2007. Parramatta fans probably feel the same.
As a fan of the game however I believe that the deficiencies in the game have rorted the Melbourne Storm.
The problem is that the words salary cap and loyalty will never fit in the same sentence. How can any club ever hope to find, nurture and grow talent under the current salary cap arrangements when they are forced to let them go as soon as they become stars? What culture does this breed?
I believe the events of the past week have been a blessing in disguise. Harsh yes, but they have highlighted the major deficiencies of the salary cap.
The game will only survive if young talent continues to be discovered. We all talk about how important loyalty is but unfortunately these days all but a few players are… through no fault of their own. The cap forbids it.
We’ve heard a million solutions to the problem but one such solution that is crystal clear is that major concessions to the cap need to be made to encourage loyalty and that requires the NRL to put their money where their mouth is. I believe if a club has developed a player from a young age then they should be given every concession to keep them. THe NRL generates over $100m every year from the game so surely there is room do do so.
Let’s save our anger for a few wrong doing individuals but let’s praise the Storm for how well they have demonstrated player development. I may 'hate' the Storm when they play Manly but I can only admire them for what they have shown can be done for the game.
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