I joined The Roar to have a bit of a rant about Melbourne. I'm not sure if my article will get posted as is, or at all, but I thought some of you merkins may like it. So here's the unedited version. I may have mentioned their past cheating once or twice. And I did bugger-all research, so if anything's wrong point it out.
IN CASE YOU FORGOT, MELBOURNE CHEATED
I've noticed a recent trend in the media when talking about the Melbourne Storm and their past success, and that is to completely ignore the fact that they cheated. Massively. And they did it for years.
Ray Warren mentioned during the game against Brisbane that Melbourne had won four grand finals. Wrong, Ray. They've won two. The other two that you think they won were a fraud. Because they cheated.
Peter Sterling was recently waxing lyrical about the great success the Storm have had in making the finals under Bellamy, and never once did he refer to the fact that for four of those years they cheated.
Brett Finch also spoke recently about how he feels they deserved their success. That's just wrong, Brett. And do you know why? Because they cheated. These are just the examples I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others.
Rugby League is a game. A game supported by fans who give their trust to the people who play and run the game to do so fairly. The Melbourne Storm took that trust and shat all over it. I'll make no bones about it, cheats really piss me off. A game is only fun when those competing are doing so in the spirit of the game. The cheating that the Melbourne Storm engaged in during the years of 2007 to 2010 is so far outside the spirit of the game that it's ridiculous.
And when they were brought to task by the NRL did they admit their indiscretions, apologise and promise to mend their ways? No. Instead, they denied all knowledge of the cheating that took place and then got together for a team photo, to show us all how united they were. This stunt completely ignored the fact that many of the players in that photo were only there because they cheated. And I don't for a second believe that those players being paid under the table, or having boats delivered to their home, knew that none of it was against the rules.
Cameron Smith, one of the smartest players in the game and one of the few who does without a player agent, signed three different contracts. Three. And this is the same guy who captains the Storm and the Kangaroos. Does anyone in the media ever mention these days that he was an integral part of the cheating that took place? You bet they don't.
My own team, the Parramatta Eels, were knocked out by the Storm one game short of the grand final in 2007, and were beaten by them in the 2009 decider. How many millions of fans did the Storm's cheating affect? Of course, we'll never know. Their cheating robbed us all of that chance.
Had the losing grand finalists been awarded the premiership when the Storm were stripped of their 2007 and 2009 titles, it would have been a very hollow feeling. A large part of the enjoyment of winning the premiership is watching it as it happens, not getting told about it months or years later. The Storm's cheating robbed many teams and their fans of the chance to experience that feeling. Having said that, I'm now firmly of the view that those teams who lost a grand final to the Melbourne Storm should have been given the title, if only to stop this nonsense that we see from some media personalities these days, who refer to them as rightful winners.
So, to summarise for those of you in the media who seem to have faulty memories, the Storm are not the 2007 and 2009 premiers, and this long period of success that you continually refer to is a sham. Because they cheated.
