Eels’ win against Cowboys could go to waste because of the salary cap scandal
THE two competition points the Parramatta Eels fought so hard to wrench from the NRL premiers on Saturday night could go to waste because of the salary cap scandal.
Make no mistake, the NRL wants either bodies or competition points.
Unless chairman Steve Sharp and his board stand down, the Eels face the very real prospect of losing not just the two points from Saturday night but up to 10 competition points all up.
If recent allegations are proven when the NRL sends in integrity unit investigators and forensic accountants, board members with any knowledge of what was happening have no choice but to resign immediately. This once great club is bigger than any individual.
Surely Saturday night’s magnificent effort proved that.
Sharp has been missing in action all week. No-one even knows if he turned up at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night to witness their stirring display against Johnathan Thurston and his Cowboys.
But the fact he wouldn’t take questions from the media after days of revelations of systematic salary cap rorting has infuriated members and fans.
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This club has become the NRL’s biggest embarrassment, lurching from one disaster to another. They’re now damaging the brand of the game and their fans have had enough.
Coach Brad Arthur got their recruitment right during the off-season and everyone thought this was the big comeback year. That they’d make the finals.
Saturday night’s performance was absolutely outstanding considering the off-field drama on how the players locked out all the controversy.
If only those inside the boardroom could perform half as good as the players.
That the effort could go wasted is so cruel and so unfair. To see the determination on the face of Kenny Edwards as he stormed over for the crucial try on halftime.
To see how stylishly Kieran Foran and Corey Norman steered the team around the park all night.
To see their defence stand up so courageously under pressure from the most dangerous attacking unit in the premiership and handle everything Thurston, Michael Morgan and co threw at them.
And to see the pain on the face of hooker Nathan Peats as he left the field in agony from a tackle that went wrong on big Jason Taumalolo.
To think anyone would be prepared allow the effort to go to waste.
The boys in the boardroom have no choice.
They owe to the coach, the players and the fans. They have to go.
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