natheel
Coach
- Messages
- 12,137
INITIALLY, I felt shocked. Cheated.
Couldn't quite believe my eyes when, lying on a comfy queen bed in Townsville's Sugar Shaker Hotel, channel-surfing through what appeared to be a fairly dreary Thursday afternoon, news of the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal broke.
The press conference was 30, maybe 40 seconds old when I was on my feet and into the hallway, knocking on the door of our Parramatta trainers Hayden Knowles and Craig Catterick, who were roomed next door. Sure enough, they were watching too.
And suddenly level eight of the Sugar Shaker Hotel came alive.
Everyone appeared in the corridor before gathering in groups of five or six to watch as the Melbourne Storm were stripped of two premierships. Stripped of all their prizemoney. And me watching on and thinking immediately of the players, "oh, you poor bastards".
And afterwards, mate, the talk really started.
We were less than 24 hours out from a match against the Cowboys but for the next 90 minutes the only topic of conversation was the 2009 grand final. Some guys were saying we'd been robbed. Others questioning aloud what the result would've been against, say, Manly. Or St George Illawarra.
It was fairly vocal.
But the longer we went on, the less passionate we were about being crowned victors. I mean, OK, they could give us a trophy, make up some rings, even rewrite a whole heap of books and records to show the Parramatta Eels as champions.
But who was going to give us that feeling when the final siren goes and you're up by six? Who was going to give us that indescribable sense of relief, pride, satisfaction? Or give Nath Cayless that grand-final lap with his kids?
All that was long gone, meaning the best we could hope for was a weird little asterisk in the record books. Which is exactly why I don't care about the salary cap saga. Why I don't think about it.
I still find the fact Melbourne aren't playing for points this year a little bizarre, but as I haven't been able to think up a better solution, who am I to pass comment? That's just me. If the referee makes a decision that I don't agree with, sweet. I can get over it and move on with so many more important things in life.
And maybe that comes from being older. Or the fact that last year no one expected us to even make the decider.
For me, it's 2001 that still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. That was the season we were the best team all year. All year. And we blew it.
I cried a lot of tears that day. I shed a few last year too but I guess you could say they were more controlled.
It's why this weekend isn't about revenge. Melbourne can keep the NRL premiership trophy for all I care. This is about getting two points and getting our season back on a roll.
We don't have time to look back. Not if we wanna give Caylo that victory lap with his kids.
Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/no-point-crying-over-lost-titles-by-nathan-hindmarsh/story-e6frext9-1225875230238
Couldn't quite believe my eyes when, lying on a comfy queen bed in Townsville's Sugar Shaker Hotel, channel-surfing through what appeared to be a fairly dreary Thursday afternoon, news of the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal broke.
The press conference was 30, maybe 40 seconds old when I was on my feet and into the hallway, knocking on the door of our Parramatta trainers Hayden Knowles and Craig Catterick, who were roomed next door. Sure enough, they were watching too.
And suddenly level eight of the Sugar Shaker Hotel came alive.
Everyone appeared in the corridor before gathering in groups of five or six to watch as the Melbourne Storm were stripped of two premierships. Stripped of all their prizemoney. And me watching on and thinking immediately of the players, "oh, you poor bastards".
And afterwards, mate, the talk really started.
We were less than 24 hours out from a match against the Cowboys but for the next 90 minutes the only topic of conversation was the 2009 grand final. Some guys were saying we'd been robbed. Others questioning aloud what the result would've been against, say, Manly. Or St George Illawarra.
It was fairly vocal.
But the longer we went on, the less passionate we were about being crowned victors. I mean, OK, they could give us a trophy, make up some rings, even rewrite a whole heap of books and records to show the Parramatta Eels as champions.
But who was going to give us that feeling when the final siren goes and you're up by six? Who was going to give us that indescribable sense of relief, pride, satisfaction? Or give Nath Cayless that grand-final lap with his kids?
All that was long gone, meaning the best we could hope for was a weird little asterisk in the record books. Which is exactly why I don't care about the salary cap saga. Why I don't think about it.
I still find the fact Melbourne aren't playing for points this year a little bizarre, but as I haven't been able to think up a better solution, who am I to pass comment? That's just me. If the referee makes a decision that I don't agree with, sweet. I can get over it and move on with so many more important things in life.
And maybe that comes from being older. Or the fact that last year no one expected us to even make the decider.
For me, it's 2001 that still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. That was the season we were the best team all year. All year. And we blew it.
I cried a lot of tears that day. I shed a few last year too but I guess you could say they were more controlled.
It's why this weekend isn't about revenge. Melbourne can keep the NRL premiership trophy for all I care. This is about getting two points and getting our season back on a roll.
We don't have time to look back. Not if we wanna give Caylo that victory lap with his kids.
Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/no-point-crying-over-lost-titles-by-nathan-hindmarsh/story-e6frext9-1225875230238
