The press conference

[manly40gimps0]

wouldnt the players be better off by cooperating fully? obviously they werent legally required to but to many observers makes it look like they are hiding something whereas full cooperation and transparency will ensure they arent complicit with the rorts

One things for sure they won't be able to avoid the ATO's questions.

 

[stormbati]

So you are in a position to know if they fully cooperated it would have made no difference at all to establishing their guilt (knowingly cheating the salary cap).

The evidence they had was due to one board member partially cooperating, and the coach cooperating with the investigators, not one other person willingly assisted investigators in any way shape or form.

yes I would be happy if every employee at that franchise cooperated with the forensic investigators.

I believe the word you are after is you, not youze.

So what you are saying is, they would have lied if they cooperated, but they did the right thing by not cooperating. What a wonderful culture the franchise known as Melbourne Storm have, it has even filtered through to their ignorant, blind fans.

Enjoy the years of karma that is coming your way. Pack of f**king lying, integrity void merkins.

Honestly how old are you 13 ?

No I'm not 13 dipsh*t. I'm just not that great at arguing. I'm not in a position to say it wouldn't have made a difference so i probably shouldn't have said that.

I'm resigned to the fact I'm a storm supporter and will be hated by most for the rest of my life.
A culture of winning, loyalty, family etc etc ofcourse Im part of that.

 

[gronkathon]

A culture based in the Delusion Delta which I believe runs off a northern tributary of De Nile

 

[Mickyd39]

Poor old stormbati, he is the only one of the Storm fans defending these merkins.

Why aren't those other nuffies like, simostorm and stormchaser,coming to help him out and defend the players for not co-operating with the audit team.

 

[adamkungl]

tbh I don't care if the players knew or not. It doesn't seem particularly relevant at this stage. All of their achievements have been stripped. What worth is a premiership if nobody acknowledges it? Their premiership rings are essentially worthless now. Who cares if they give them back?

Time to move on and rebuild. Sick of bitter Parra and Saints fans laying the boot in, its getting boring...

 

[_Johnsy]

No I'm not 13 dipsh*t. I'm just not that great at arguing. I'm not in a position to say it wouldn't have made a difference so i probably shouldn't have said that.

I'm resigned to the fact I'm a storm supporter and will be hated by most for the rest of my life.
A culture of winning, loyalty, family etc etc ofcourse Im part of that.

Its not an argument, it is more about putting thought into what you type, ie. concise thoughts via words.

You will not be hated, your club will be. You will be held in contempt by many making ridiculous statements defending the indefensible.

You also forgot to mention a culture of systematic cheating, a culture of no integrity in your players actions (not cooperating with investigators).
Melbourne Storm will always be remembered for being a completely dishonest, cheating integrity void rugby league franchise.

 

[Matt23]

* Players should be stood down until they agree with the investigation
* O'Sullivan should get punted
* Premiership rings should be returned
* Fine should be doubled (Based on the fact they cheated twice as much)
* Deloittes should be contracted as full time Salary Cap auditors and Schubert punted
* Gallop should f**k the QRL off and get the IC in by January 1st 2011

That would just about satisfy me.

Post of the year!

 

[stormbati]

Its not an argument, it is more about putting thought into what you type, ie. concise thoughts via words.

You will not be hated, your club will be. You will be held in contempt by many making ridiculous statements defending the indefensible.

You also forgot to mention a culture of systematic cheating, a culture of no integrity in your players actions (not cooperating with investigators).
Melbourne Storm will always be remembered for being a completely dishonest, cheating integrity void rugby league franchise.

So you're saying my club will be hated 30 years from now like Manly are?
ATM, my arguements of the players guilt have more merit than any other.

 

[manly40gimps0]

So you're saying my club will be hated 30 years from now like Manly are?
ATM, my arguements of the players guilt have more merit than any other.

whats this? manly's hated since when?

 

[Timmah]

stormbati, welcome to the lives of Manly and Canterbury fans. Manly for their legal but unethical actions in the 70's, us for the cap in 02.

 

[BDH]

Oh dear.

Are you aware they did not cooperate with the investigation?

As such, they can never be 100% clear. With the current evidence available, without cooperation from the players involved, their names cannot be 100% cleared.

Don't know how much clearer that can be.

Do you guys think it is strange that Slater's signature WAS NOT on his 'side letter"??

 

[_Johnsy]

So you're saying my club will be hated 30 years from now like Manly are?

Yes without a doubt. From this point on, the Melbourne Cheating Scum will always be the most hated NRL club, and rightfully so.

ATM, my arguements of the players guilt have more merit than any other.

No they don't, if they had cooperated with the investigators, maybe.
Your comment regarding this shows just how irrational you are ( & yes i am giving you the benefit of doubt, hence the use of "irrational")

 

[manly40gimps0]

stormbati, welcome to the lives of Manly and Canterbury fans. Manly for their legal but unethical actions in the 70's, us for the cap in 02.

yep, footy fans hold grudges for a long time.

 

[Godz Illa]

The attitude of the players towards the audit reflects the attitude of their board. Perhaps they were poorly advised by their chairman, perhaps they were acting out of spite and trying to hinder the investigation, perhaps they were trying to protect themselves from any tax problems. Either way they were not legally compelled to co-operate and failing to do so does not prove guilt.

The more I read the focus on the players in here the more I believe it is misguided. If they’ve committed tax offences then that’s a matter for the ATO and none of our concern, nor a concern of their employer News Ltd or their appointed auditors. I doubt they have willingly cheated the cap or willingly defrauded the NRL. If they had suspicions of the “dodgy” side letters and secondary letters of offer they probably quizzed their superiors about them and were assured it was all hunky dory. What more can we expect of them? To blow the whistle to Ian Schubert? If their CEO and whomever of the 4 have granted the assurance it is all ok, should they have been compelled to go to Schubert and the NRL? A bit of a far fetched scenario isn’t it? It seems to me that in it is in the interests of the architects of the rort for the players to know as little as possible about the schemes, because players move on from club to club and would be more likely to have loose lips - indeed 6 of the players named are no longer at the Storm. What punishments do you hope to impose on Turner, Crocker or the retired Matt Geyer? To be quite honest they’ve been punished sufficiently already, as Gallop stated. The premierships have been stripped

 

[BDH]

On the topic of players not cooperating, I can honestly see this conversation happening back in April;

"Guys we need to stick together on this. We will have a vote as a team, forget about managers, administrators and directors, let's all agree to either co operate as a team or refuse all co operation as a team."

I am upset the players haven't co operated, but I would be even more upset if a few players had co operated and others didn't. To me, that would have seemed more suspicious than the current situation where the entire team refuses to co operate.

I'm not a Storm sympathiser (all though I am a Storm Fan sympathiser), I can't see any more punishments that would do anything for other club's player, administrators or fans.

When you look at the legality of the current contracts players have tied to the club (not the other way, if the club didn't pay or broke contracts, the club is liable to the individual player), the only legal solution, which may soothe the greater NRL's fans is for the NRL to deregister all of the current Storm playing roster, and then allow the Storm to have first bids to their own players. This means the Storm would effectively be rebuilding its team from scratch, whilst giving other clubs the chance of snapping up players which the Storm will not be able to afford.

Is there a legal precedence, which would allow the NRL to deregister players, without allowing the players to sue the club or competition??

 

[Loudstrat]

In all honesty gallop has to go, he stated he will not further investigate the breaches, even though their penalties were commensurate with 1/2 the correct figure of the salary cap breach.

They increase the fine - who pays it? News Ltd? And how many more premierships can the strip?

He stopped short of accusing them.

In my opinion the players that refused to co-operate should be stood down until such times as they co-operate fully with the investigation.

100% correct.

tbh I don't care if the players knew or not. It doesn't seem particularly relevant at this stage. All of their achievements have been stripped. What worth is a premiership if nobody acknowledges it? Their premiership rings are essentially worthless now. Who cares if they give them back?

How did you feel in the 2004 GF? You copped a 3 point loss to a team that was assembled under a massive rort - and then decided to take a pay cut to beat you in a GF, before disbanding. Melbournes cheating can still win them a GF in 2011 or 2012 if they keep the big 4

Time to move on and rebuild. Sick of bitter Parra and Saints fans laying the boot in, its getting boring...

Yes, the salary cap should revolve around your entertainment :roll:

stormbati, welcome to the lives of Manly and Canterbury fans. Manly for their legal but unethical actions in the 70's, us for the cap in 02.

And the rest!!!!!!
Coffs Harbour
Constant looting and pillaging
Lamb's blatant elbow in 88
Traitor League
Breaking the cap to win in 95
Illegal shoulderpads in 84 (we avenged that in 86, but still)
;-)

 

[manly40gimps0]

To show the character of the melbourne Storm, here is the Foundation the used to siphon funds to the players.

The Unity Foundation - is an inclusive not-for-profit organisation. Unity Foundation utilises Indigenous and non-Indigenous athletes and community leaders to deliver supportive and inclusive programs using core principles of understanding, nurturing, identity, togetherness, and youth. The Unity Foundation is committed to inspiring Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, who may otherwise be at risk of not embracing life, to reach their potential and develop a hunger to achieve life long goals through leadership, support and education.
Unity Foundation employs early intervention and prevention strategies to minimise the risk of social exclusion, cultural ignorance, anti-social behaviours, suicide and domestic violence in current and future generations.

Unity Foundation’s Mission
To create more options in the lives of young Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through programs and processes that assist young people in accessing the necessary tools to enhance the opportunity to achieve their dreams, goals and life ambitions.

Hasn't this foundation been disbanded?
And also I think that because it's a not for profit organisation that they are exempt from paying TAX. I'm sure the ATO would like to know why a charitable organisation are topping up footballers wages.

 

[Loudstrat]

yep, footy fans hold grudges for a long time.

We will never forget Hartleygate from 1978!!!!!

 

[manly40gimps0]

We will never forget Hartleygate from 1978!!!!!

good..lol

 

[manly40gimps0]

even fans that weren't even born in the 70s hate us for that..
the storm fan have much to look forward too.