Brycey said:
Which salary cap were they in breach of?
Just Quickly (at work, don't have time to get ALL 7 years straight, but will find later):-
2001 to 2005:-
Melbourne Storm has fallen foul of the NRL salary cap police for the fifth straight year, being fined $120,000 for breaches dating back to 2001.
The Storm was one of five clubs fined a total of $275,000 yesterday for infringing the cap. The other clubs were Penrith and the Sydney Roosters ($25,000 each), the Bulldogs ($72,295) and St George Illawarra, which plans to appeal against its $32,286 fine.
Melbourne's breaches relate to third-party agreements between sponsors and players who are no longer at the club.
"Fortuitously it's finished now, we've got to the bottom of it," Storm chief Brian Waldron said.
"The club has obviously had a short history of this type of issue but I'm very confident going forward that this will be end of it."
The club has been slugged a total of $431,858 since its initial fine in 2001, including a $130,000 penalty last year for breaching third-party agreements. But Waldron said the latest fine related to different deals.
"It is open to interpretation and it is a convoluted process the way a lot of the deals have been done," said Waldron.
"But it's pretty straightforward that they were issues that should have been aired in one way or another and unfortunately they weren't.
". . . To be brutally honest we've probably been treated favourably given the offences that took place. From that point of view we certainly take our punishment at this time and make sure that we manage it more diligently in the future."
The breaches were brought to the attention of the NRL last year by Waldron's predecessor Frank Stanton, who is also a senior News Ltd executive.
"The NRL is absolutely committed to making this place (Melbourne) work but we can't be exempt from any rules," said Waldron. "Just because we're a News Ltd organisation, that really means nothing. From my point of view that should mean we're as diligent as anyone to make sure we act within the rules."
Waldron said the fine would have no impact on the Storm's ability to re-sign players or target recruits for next season.
Last night, several NRL chief executives called on the league to dock points from clubs that repeatedly breached the salary cap.
Manly chief executive Paul Cummings said last night a fine was a slap on the wrist to a club with lots of money.
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2003 article:-
Storm fined $66,000 over cap
January 30 2003
Four National Rugby League clubs, including Melbourne, were hit with fines totalling more than $400,000 last night for breaching the salary cap.
The Storm, Sydney Roosters, Brisbane and Newcastle became the latest victims of the NRL's salary-cap auditors, less than five months after the Bulldogs' high-profile breach of the $3.25 million limit.
The Roosters, the reigning premiers, were the hardest hit, fined a total of $150,000 for two breaches relating to a contract involving half-back Craig Wing.
Newcastle was ordered to pay $115,000, the Broncos $82,533 and Melbourne $66,698.
Despite the size of last night's fines, NRL chief executive David Gallop said he was confident the salary cap was having the desired effect.
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"I would suggest that the cap is absolutely working and that it's only a natural part of policing the cap that at times there will be fines," he said.
"Almost all relate to payments put in place some years ago but are still washing out of the system.
"The Melbourne Storm, for instance, have been locked into some of their contracts for several years and have been fined previously over the same issue. Those contracts should now have expired."
The NRL board also last night approved the introduction of "sudden-death" extra time to resolve drawn matches in this year's premiership.
AAP
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