Storm will be forced to lose two more...

[Timmah]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24941149-23214,00.html

Salary cap sees Melbourne Storm forced to let more players go

By Dan Koch
January 21, 2009 MELBOURNE football manager Frank Ponissi has failed to deny his club has been desperately trying to off-load at least two more members of its senior squad in a bid to ease pressure on its salary cap for the 2009 season.
Storm officials have contacted rival clubs over the off-season, including North Queensland, Wests Tigers, Brisbane and St George Illawarra, to sound out their interest in picking up the contracts of fringe prop Scott Anderson and winger Steve Turner.
Like so many champion teams before them, Melbourne has become a victim of its own success, with coach Craig Bellamy's starting 17 this year bearing little resemblance to the one which powered to the 2007 premiership.
While no one could argue the success of the salary cap as a competition-equalising tool, many within the game have questioned whether penalising a club for excellence flies in the face of the most basic principles of professional sport.
Having pieced together and developed his squad into the competition's most dominant force over the past three years, Bellamy has been forced to watch on helplessly as his squad was torn apart.
With little compensation or reward for clubs that invest in junior development, securing the long-term futures of skipper Cameron Smith, half-back Cooper Cronk, full-back Billy Slater and five-eighth Greg Inglis has meant letting go a host of others including Israel Folau, Matt King, Antonio Kaufusi, Jeremy Smith, Michael Crocker and Ben Cross.
But it would appear Melbourne remains fearful of its current predicament, with Ponissi going as far as admitting the club was dealing with "some issues" regarding the salary cap.
"I am not going to be drawn into speculation about individual players and their respective contract situations," Ponissi said. "I will say that like a lot of clubs in the NRL, we are dealing with salary cap pressure.
"There is always pressure from the salary cap, particularly at this time of the year, when you are finalising your squads. We are not exempt from that."
When asked directly whether Melbourne would find itself in breach of the cap if the club was audited today, Ponissi replied, "No. Not at the moment."
Should nothing change in the coming days, that assertion looks set to be put to the most ruthless examination, with NRL auditor Ian Schubert confirming he would run a fine toothcomb over the Storm's books within the next two weeks.
"We do all 16 clubs between November and March," Schubert said.
The Storm has incurred several fines over the past seven seasons for minor breaches of the cap.
The Warriors, meanwhile, have scheduled a board meeting for Monday to discuss the future of Test halfback Nathan Fien.
Fien, 29, has requested a release from the final year of his deal with the Warriors to take a lucrative three-year contract with English Super League club Huddersfield.
Midway through last season Fien was advised he would not be offered a contract extension.
He then starred for the Warriors in their charge through the finals and played a pivotal role for New Zealand in its dramatic World Cup victory over Australia.
After initially targeting Fien, Huddersfield instead opted for talented but troubled former Raider Todd Carney. But, when Carney was last week denied a UK visa, new Giants coach Nathan Brown went back to Fien.

 

[gong_eagle]

Steve Turner
all that fuss about him 2 years ago and the storm finally realize he is crap

 

[voltron]

sucked in steve turner

 

[Noa]

Is that right.

Steve is a good first-grade winger, he's scored 44 tries in the last 3 seasons, and over the last 3 years not many wingers have perofrmed better. His stats stand up to to anyone else.

Sure he had a bad SOO, but if your gonna base your opinion on a game in a big match then Anthony Watmough is the biggest fraud of all-time.

But dont let the trees block your view of the woods.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Is that right.

Steve is a good first-grade winger, he's scored 44 tries in the last 3 seasons, and over the last 3 years not many wingers have perofrmed better. His stats stand up to to anyone else.

Sure he had a bad SOO, but if your gonna base your opinion on a game in a big match then Anthony Watmough is the biggest fraud of all-time.

But dont let the trees block your view of the woods.

A weak player can look good in a strong team..... Just ask Hazem El Masri! Another neville who played SOO.

 

[^_^]

Wasnt Anthony Watmough part of the same team that demolished the Storm in the BIGGEST game of the year? I think he had two major offloads that led straight to tries.....WHAT A FRAUD hahahaha :lol:

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

i wouldn't mind turner coming to easts

 

[Bulldog Force]

Steve Turner
all that fuss about him 2 years ago and the storm finally realize he is crap

lol.

 

[Noa]

Wasnt Anthony Watmough part of the same team that demolished the Storm in the BIGGEST game of the year? I think he had two major offloads that led straight to tries.....WHAT A FRAUD hahahaha :lol:

Look up, thats the exact point going by genius.

And Steve Turner has been in the top 5 Storm players over the last 3 years, so that says a fair bit about him.

Lol, Baron, Hazem El Masri is going to be the highest point scorer in history soon, get a clue.

Players like Hazem and Zappa arent superstars, they're not HOF's but what they are, are good, solid pro's who do there jobs well.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

Steve Turner can FOAD after all the sh!t he put the Titans through.

You can't pick on El'Masri though. He may not be the best winger in the game but he is safe as houses and can kick goals from anywhere. A big part of why the Dog's were so succesful for so many years was that El'Masri's boot allowed them to win a lot of close games. It's a big advantage to have when over 90% of your tries are worth 6 points.

 

[SouthsSupportUnlimited]

El Masri is an unbeleivable player. He is what the footballer should represent. Getting on with his business and complete loyalty. I hope when he gets the point scoring record he doesn't get ever overtaken because he has just been a sensation for the club and for the NRL.

 

[Joker's Wild]

And Steve Turner has been in the top 5 Storm players over the last 3 years, so that says a fair bit about him.

You are kidding arn't you?

Smith, Hoffman, Cronk, Inglis, Folau, Slater, White

No way is he in the top 5 of Storm players, no way in the world

 

[adamkungl]

i wouldn't mind turner coming to easts

Yeah we've had some pretty sh*te wingers turn out for us in the last 2 years, I don't even remember who we've got lined up this year....SKD and Perret? With Soliola and Williamson in the centres?

 

[Shorty]

Noa,just because he's a Storm player doesn't mean you have to stick up for him.
He's not woeful but at the very limit of his capability - He's an average player.
When you've got Folau,Inglis,Slater,Cronk,Smith etc on your side you can look as good as any player and can keep a first grade spot....even when the 9 players were away with Origin duty and he moved into fullback(the position he wanted to cement) he was sh*tty.

I wonder though,had he gone to Origin(which showed just how average he is without his star team mates and also bumping up his price) would the Storm have had to give him the flick?

I'm not so sure life would have been better at the Tits anyway,considering the crappy way they have treated Friend....kinda' feel sorry for Steve actually.

 

[Butters]

Didn't Turner lead the comp in linebreaks in 07? Thats quite a feat for such a sh*t winger :roll:

 

[mxlegend99]

Steve Turner isn't an original quality winger, but he's still a good player.

In a dominant team he could help you win by a massive margin as he is a great attacking player with plenty of pace. Obviously he is a weak defender at the best of times though, and in a game where your team is getting hammered, he wouldn't help matters. (ie. the Grand Final)

I wouldn't say he is in the top 5 players at the Storm, but he has definitely helped them be as successful as they have. Every player has done their part. That's the whole point... they dominated because they were so good as a team.

 

[Big Pete]

I can understand why people would dislike Turner but I can't understand why they don't consider him a solid player.

He may not be a superstar but he's a good club winger who knows how to score tries. In the modern game that's all you want.

 

[steaming stormer]

Agreed, I don't think any Storm fan will try and tell you he's a superstar, but he's a player we as fans know will turn up and do his job week in week out.
Also, don't forget, but in the lead up to the 07 premiership, the bloke had knee surgery to remove the cartilage in his knee making him bone on bone. That can't have helped with his 08 season

 

[Noa]

Steve Turner isn't an original quality winger, but he's still a good player.

In a dominant team he could help you win by a massive margin as he is a great attacking player with plenty of pace. Obviously he is a weak defender at the best of times though, and in a game where your team is getting hammered, he wouldn't help matters. (ie. the Grand Final)

I wouldn't say he is in the top 5 players at the Storm, but he has definitely helped them be as successful as they have. Every player has done their part. That's the whole point... they dominated because they were so good as a team.

In terms of consistency you could mount a very strong case that he's one of our best 5 players over the last 3 years.

 

[Noa]

Noa,just because he's a Storm player doesn't mean you have to stick up for him.
He's not woeful but at the very limit of his capability - He's an average player.
When you've got Folau,Inglis,Slater,Cronk,Smith etc on your side you can look as good as any player and can keep a first grade spot....even when the 9 players were away with Origin duty and he moved into fullback(the position he wanted to cement) he was sh*tty.

I wonder though,had he gone to Origin(which showed just how average he is without his star team mates and also bumping up his price) would the Storm have had to give him the flick?

I'm not so sure life would have been better at the Tits anyway,considering the crappy way they have treated Friend....kinda' feel sorry for Steve actually.

Luke Covell is an average player, Shannon Hegarty is a sh*t player, Zappa is a good player.

Not defending cause he's a Storm player, the FACTS shorty, the FACTS, show he's a good solid player. GHe would have been gone any way cause we'll need the money for the likes of Tomane, Protor etc. Which is why I said two years ago that he was stupid not to go the Titans.


And MX Id probably only have Cam, Cooper, DJ & Billy above him from 2006-2008. I'll add as well the stats show that he is actually one of the safer wingers in the game defensively. You dont believe me look em up.