Storm legend Cameron Smith has declared that Melbourne should have their 2007 and 2009 premierships reinstated after Cronulla emerged from their own salary cap scandal without losing their 2016 title.
In 2010, the discovery that the Storm had exceeded the salary cap by $3.7 million over five years led to the club being stripped of the two titles, as well as the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships.
The NRL this week released the results of an investigation that uncovered $750,000 in illegal third-party agreements set up through a company endorsed by the Cronulla board, however punishment was limited to a $1.25 million fine with $500,000 suspended due to CEO Barry Russellโs self reporting.
The Sharks will also need to shed at least one player to be cap compliant for the 2019 season, and will be forced to operate at $353,000 below their rivals both this year and next.
In light of this weekโs findings, Smith believes the NRL โmay find a different outcomeโ if the league were to revisit the penalties against the Storm.
โThe clear difference for me is that there is a fair bit of time put into gathering all the evidence, the emails, all that sort of stuff, and they havenโt made a decision after what was just 48 hours like ours,โ Smith said at the NRL launch on Thursday.
โThey have put a fair bit of time and thought into the punishment handed down to Cronulla. It hasnโt happened in the space of two days.
โAs far as looking at what happened at Cronulla and having the understanding of what I know happened at our club, it sounds quite similar, yet we were made to play an entire season without points and had premierships taken off us.
โIt is almost like the same or similar crime with a completely different punishment. If you look over the course of time from 2010 to now there are a handful of clubs that have been over the salary cap by similar amounts and they havenโt been made to sit out a season or not play for points.โ
Smithโs Storm open the NRL season with a home matchup with the Broncos on Thursday 14th March, with the Sharks facing an away trip to Newcastle on Friday 15th.
If they are going to let Cronulla keep there premiership when they have been proven to have cheated then they have to give Melbourne there premierships back.
For each season a club has been caught cheating they should be kicked out of the league for an equal amount of time.
Fair call by Smithy.
Sharks treated like royalty for some reason.
Did Paul Kent say Cronulla were rorting the system?
I thought the majority of NRL fans believe the word rorting was directed to another NRL club.
Which club? Daaah
Cameron, why would you open this tin of worms, Cameron.
It just reminds me of the time you signed 2 contracts, Cameron.
And the way you kept the money and gifts and did not give anything to charity, Cameron.
And the sneaky way you tried to have multiple testimonial events, Cameron. Nothing to charity there either, hey Cameron?
I cannot understand how Cronulla keep getting off so lightly. They are serial offenders yet their punishments are mild in comparison.
Compared with punishments and the rigorous process gone through today, I think that Melbourne have a genuine reason to feel aggrieved.
Smith has no credibility.
He was part of the immoral rorting & enjoyed its benefits, but doesn’t want to pay the price….
Forever a cheat!!
Easy!!!! Take away the premiership off the sharks!!!! Put the porch light back on.
Donโt take advice from Smith. Lord of the cheats.
Storms cheating can not be compared or reduced to the level of the sharks or any other clubs salary cap transgressions. Storms case is at the pinnacle of cheating. It was purposefully deceitful and the amounts were the highest on record. No CAM you can’t have the trophies that should rightfully belong to parramatta and manly.
Everyone in the comments section agreeing with Smith are Queenslanders who will do anything to see the Sharks suffer.
Shut up, the Sharks title which was legitly won isn’t going anywhere so drop it and stop crying.
+1
You cannot get back what you cheated for smith. & Until its proven without a wordof doubt that the Sharks cheated in 2016…โฆ. Then the Sharkies will ALWAYS be the 2016 Premiers. Simple as that.
โthe Sharks title which was legitly wonโ
Hahaha they have been proven to have been over ther cap, just because it wasnโt as much as the storm you think itโs alright?
It took drugnulla peptides and salary cap cheating to win 1 premiership. There a stain of a club that keeps getting of lightly.
Melbourne willfully cheated the cap by 3.78 million and had two books. They copped what they deserved.
In 2018, Manly were fined $750,000 and two of the club’s officials received 12 month bans after The NRL found that they had breached the salary cap over the previous five seasons. The breaches involve 15 players over five years, totalling $1.5 million. Cronulla is a lot less than Manly over less years. Cronulla do not deserve to have their premiership stripped but they should not of had a reduced fine for honesty.
๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ
Smith warming up for his new job as a circus clown. Bozo would be an apt name I’d say. Both clubs should be punted.
I think its pretty obvious why the sharks are being treated so lightly. They are on the verge of financial collapse and the NRL cant afford a 15 team competition nor another financial liability in propping them up to $2-3m per year for the rest of eternity. But in a fair world they would be stripped of the title.
It is amazing that a seemingly intelligent individual like Smith thought his comments would fly. Surely its actually a joke from his end. Otherwise we might only assume he has a dramatically inflated view of his own position in the world – which I’m sure he does. Its a massive sense of entitlement. *We cheated to win but dont you all think we still deserve to be regarded as the greatest team ever….* *Its just not fair that we cheated and well everybody still thinks we’re cheats*
I’m a Queenslander but Smith is an idiot. If Sharks were over they should be stripped plain and simple
Back2Back19. And your one of those Queenslanders who hate Cronulla with all your heart, Rd 7 matey your little Broncos are gonna get smashed.
+1
They should give those premiership las to Parra and Manly tbh.
No!
Just strip the sharks if theirs.
Iโm a maroon, Storm cheated, still bend all rules, premierships are lost. Saying that the Sharks cheated, even though they were under cap the process to cheat was in place, cheating is cheating, 2016 premiership should also be stripped.
Can smith should go down in History for what he did on the field, (some of which I would be disappointed with if I was his parents) and lay off his own Press.
He and boofheah are no different, except Smith was in the winners circle more often.
Spot On, Cam’s a CLOWN๐คก๐คก๐คก๐คก๐คก๐คก๐คก๐คก๐คก
Actually the NRL proved that they were under the cap from 2013 – 2016. They broke the rules by not disclosing third party payments, they didn’t actually spend more than the salary cap, even after factoring in the third party payments.
Here’s a fun fact for you: In 2002 the Roosters were fined $133,396 for being over the cap. They also won the comp in 2002. That premiership should be stripped without a doubt.
https://www.nrl.com/news/2010/04/22/history-of-nrl-salary-cap-breaches/
Don’t know why Rorters supporters are commenting here… only a matter of time till at least one recent Easts premiership is stripped……… only a matter of time
What??? Roosters over the cap in 2002.
That’s scandalous.
I’m out raged.
Explain yourself Splinter Chick.
Well done my fellow clown caller! You used it most appropriately this time.
Hahaha. Scandalous I say. Lol
Daffy- Woody needs to bestow upon you the clown calling certificate before you are allowed the official clown calling tradesman title. Give it to him woody!
So creating a separate company with the sole task of getting 3rd party agreements and keeping them off the books isn’t deceitful ?
I think he is reflecting on what the storm went through in the wake of their SC dramas and what some other clubs more recently have been put through. The punishments were knee jerk, not properly investigated or considered and the punishments were in his view excessive. Incidentally, had the rules that exist today been applied during the storm’s cheating period they would actually have been within the cap..
I am not condoning what they did but they went through sheer hell because of it unlike clubs like the Eels and Sharks where they pay a little discounted fine and life goes on.
There is some validity to Smiths claim and why the Strom did not take the NRL to court over that process/penalties, I do not know.
Yea…. nah!!!!
True
If the same rules applied from today the storm would have been booted out of the Comp.
Well if you do your math, it will give you a clear answer why the Roosters were fined and Melbourne had ALL their cheating titles taken from them.
The math is, what is the Roosters percentage of 133k of Melbourne’s 3.78 mil.โโโโ The answer is 3.5%. Fines are appropriate when teams like Canterbury and Melbourne Blatantly cheated the cap with MASSIVE amounts of money to win a premiership compared to the misunderstanding of a TPA agreement that came unstuck like in the Roosters case. ๐ช๐๐
Misunderstandings of TPAs. Yep like Manly.
Nothing like Manly, Manly made a blatant continual error for 5 years in a row spending 1.5 mil while the roosters had one player over the cap due to a TPA that was made a mess of during the 2000-2001 seasons. No blatant cheating was involved like Manly 5 year rort and that is why the Roosters were fined and were allowed to keep the title.
The Roosters had a minor discrepancy in 2002 with 133k TPA stuff up. However some other premiers were over also and some with larger amounts than Sydney Roosters.
2000 Brisbane over 118k and Newcastle over 450k and Melbourne were over 177k 2001 Nrth Queensland over 210k, 2002 Canterbury over 2.13 mil, 2011 Wests over the cap by 374k, 2015 Parra over 1 mil, 2017 Manly over 1.5 mil๐ช๐๐
Rubbish. If the NRL had done their jobs and discovered manlys misunderstanding after the first year then the misunderstandings would not have continued for another 4 years. Rorters were lucky that they got picked up early on that particular “misunderstanding”. Just waiting for NRL to pick up rorters other 20 misunderstangs now.
โIf the NRL had done their jobs and discovered manlys misunderstanding after the first year then the misunderstandings would not have continued for another 4 years.โ
Hahaha blaming the nrl for something your stain did.