A message from Acting Storm CEO Frank Stanton

[absentee]

The sooner people realise that it was the actions of a few people - hidden from the rest of the club - and not the club as a whole, the better.  The way some people continually talk about the Storm - players, coaches, trainers, support staff, members and supporters - is wrong.  It's suggesting that every one of us that has ever been involved with the club is just as guilty as the few guys responsible.  Yes, we're all dealing with the consequences and yes the punishment is deserved - but to suggest that we're all a bunch of cheats is just not on.

[Brian]

The Storm and their fans need to stop playing the victim and just accept that they got busted doing something very very bad

What did I do!? What did we all do, besides support our team, while everyone else was sticking the boot in??
Im going to keep playing the victim until everything is done and dusted because im 100% sure I had NO KNOWLEDGE of the rorting..  :icon_frown:
[/quote


Yeah me Neither

[Blitzkrieg]

The Storm and their fans need to stop playing the victim and just accept that they got busted doing something very very bad

What did I do!? What did we all do, besides support our team, while everyone else was sticking the boot in??
Im going to keep playing the victim until everything is done and dusted because im 100% sure I had NO KNOWLEDGE of the rorting..  :icon_frown:

   

The sooner people realise that it was the actions of a few people - hidden from the rest of the club - and not the club as a whole, the better.  The way some people continually talk about the Storm - players, coaches, trainers, support staff, members and supporters - is wrong.  It's suggesting that every one of us that has ever been involved with the club is just as guilty as the few guys responsible.  Yes, we're all dealing with the consequences and yes the punishment is deserved - but to suggest that we're all a bunch of cheats is just not on.

   

@Rudski - when you know nothing about a person or a group of people, it is best to say nothing. However, if you feel you must make a comment, then make sure you have done your homework thoroughly first.

And just so we are perfectly clear on it...

WE STORM FANS DO NOT, & NEVER WILL, CONDONE THIS CHEATING, NOR DO WE SUPPORT THOSE INVOLVED THEREIN. WE ACCEPT THE PUNISHMENT THAT HAS BEEN DEALT OUT TO OUR CLUB, AND WE WANT THE PERPETRATORS OF THESE COWARDLY RORTS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE ASAP.
ANYONE WHO BELIEVES OTHERWISE IS COMPLETELY DELUSIONAL, AS ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT NEWS LTD ARE BLAMELESS, & THAT THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN OUR GAME IS BENEFICIAL TO ANYONE CONCERNED.

[Bourbon Rat]

We also want ALL the people involved in designing & structuring the rorts.
Not just the ones that it's 'safe' for News Ltd to finger as 'rats'.

I think it's pretty ironic that Waldron & Co got caught out NOT because Gallop & his band of happy misfits did / or do a good job of policing the cap but because.
A : An accurate & legal record was kept of all the overs.
B : An unhappy,(And dumped) player agents ratted them out,(strange that the News Ltd didn't name him in it;s report of 'people involved' ?)

When you consider the brown paperbag  economy & jobs for partners that has formed the backbone of rugby leagues overs system for decades.Isn't it hillarious that Melbourne came unstuck because ALL their paperwork was legal 

[Ice]

The Storm and their fans need to stop playing the victim and just accept that they got busted doing something very very bad

What did I do!? What did we all do, besides support our team, while everyone else was sticking the boot in??
Im going to keep playing the victim until everything is done and dusted because im 100% sure I had NO KNOWLEDGE of the rorting.. 

I do believe Rudski just got owned and duly had his sorry arse handed to him on a plate. Great post.

[stormsally]

We also want ALL the people involved in designing & structuring the rorts.
Not just the ones that it's 'safe' for News Ltd to finger as 'rats'.

I think it's pretty ironic that Waldron & Co got caught out NOT because Gallop & his band of happy misfits did / or do a good job of policing the cap but because.
A : An accurate & legal record was kept of all the overs.
B : An unhappy,(And dumped) player agents ratted them out,(strange that the News Ltd didn't name him in it;s report of 'people involved' ?)

When you consider the brown paperbag  economy & jobs for partners that has formed the backbone of rugby leagues overs system for decades.Isn't it hillarious that Melbourne came unstuck because ALL their paperwork was legal 

Brown paper bags are given to players who understand that this money is outside the cap.  He needed the paper trail to give different documents to different people.

[Surandy]

I genuinely sympathise with your position, but the truth is that News Limited didn't do the deals that caused this problem, Waldron & others did. News Limited did write the cheques and despite your fears of being wiped out, News Limited have consistently and repeatedly assured you that they will continue to support the club.

I agree there will always be conflicts of interest whilst ever they own half of the NRL, but seriously, I haven't seen a single action from News Limited aimed at damaging the club. Yes, News sacked the four Directors that News appointed, but it's their legal and moral right to hire who they see fit to run the club. Those same Directors refused to cooperate with the owners investigations into what had happened. Frankly I am surprised they weren't fired weeks ago.

Who do you think appointed Waldron? News Ltd!

Waldron stated at a members forum that his charter was to prepare Storm for being sold by News Ltd.

Do you honestly believe he acted without sanction from News Ltd?

News Ltd have said they support our club? Yet they have removed the very people that stood up for the supporters and replaced them with News Ltd stooges!

The four directors refused to co-operate with the owners investigation? Can you blame them? It was clearly designed as a witch hunt and News Ltd has shown no problems with leaking any information that they want, I wouldn't trust them if I was a director!

Take a balanaced read of all that has come out and been said and you will clearly see that much of what the chief rat, Hartigan, has said is contradictory or full of spin.

[LESStar58]

.......which I`m sure will contain absolutely nothing that hasn`t been approved of by the News Ltd propaganda machine.
        The action to sack the 4 independant directors is nothing short of disgraceful. By your own admissions (http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 66,00.html  ) the 4 independant directors have not been implicated in this issue and yet they, and only they , of the Board of Directors have been removed. This is nothing short of a blatant attempt by News Ltd to seize and ensure control of the club, particularly during the period that will now follow where contracts will have to be negotiated with players and players will undoubtedly have to leave. The only real  conclusion to be drawn from this is that Hartigan and Gallop will be able to achieve what they have plainly sort from the outset and be able to control the breakup of the playing group to their satisfaction
        The fact that News Ltd have not seen fit to release the whole audit document, instead sending it to their lawyers for sterilization first, does nothing but reinforce the perception that they have themselves been implicated and are going to whatever lengths it takes to cover their backsides. In short Frank, I doubt that their are many Storm supporters who will trust News Ltd, their representatives or their motives and we will be watching closely

I am stunned every time I visit your great site and read the vitriol directed at your owners. The fact is they have done nothing but support your great club for 10+ years now at a massive cost to them for virtually no return. If they wanted to, they could very easily use this as an excuse to walk away from the club, but even today they are dedicating themselves to support the club for the long term. I honestly wish they owned the club I support, then I would be sure that we would be around for the years to come.

Those who look to the independent Directors to take over the club are seriously deluded if they think they would be better off with this ownership structure and the financial backing that would mean.

It's time to build a bridge!!!!

As a Tigers fan I agree with much of what you say about the support from news ltd, but look at it from the storm fans POV - this club is being torn apart and they have no idea what will happen next and just want to vent at those responsible - their owners!

Not the NRL.

Not even David Gallop.

The Storm management have stabbed themselves in the heart and bloodletting is well and truly in order.

I'd love to see news get out of the game (as an owner of the comp and a team) completely, and just pay the bucketload of cash the TV rights deal is worth instead of the reduced amount they get away with under the current deal. Time to rebuild Storm - and it's a long and winding road if it's done without a bottomless pit of cash.
Any other club caught doing similar deserves equal punishment!

We'd have a higher salary cap if News had payed what we worth in TV rights so I'm with you on that. My issue with Gallop has always been that he signed off on the deal in which we were undersold and he's an ex-News employee looking after a sporting comp half owned by his old employer and we all know he feels about leaving "the family" as he allegedly said to Waldron when he farked off to the Rebels. If we are independent and Gallop isn't running the game we'd have a CEO worth his salt like Demetriou (who I can't stand but lets face it, he's very very good at what he does) who would tell the networks to come back with a better offer.

Add to this the fact that people, places and businesses/sponsors want to get involved with the game but somehow the NRL seems to be against well funded, influential people being involved with running the game because they aren't from the News Ltd stable. We have, over time, as many as 6 teams knocking down the door for an NRL license (WA, CQ, CC, PNG, NZ2 etc). The NRL are told by consultants that expansion won't offer more value to the networks. What do the NRL do? They admit defeat and don't give it a second thought.

The AFL are putting 2 new teams in areas where TV ratings are a basketcase and they are now asking for a billion for their next deals. Now correct me if I'm wrong but someone over there obviously doesnt like taking no for an answer.

I think Gus said it best in this article last year just after Khunt went to the AFL

The NRL is a partnership between the decaying and ineffective ARL and a media company, News Ltd, whose publications and journalists attack people within the game and the code itself with such unbridled vindictiveness, unfairness and ferocity that it belies any suggestion they even remotely act in the best interests of rugby league.

This situation is only exacerbated by the fact rugby league has been under-sold, under-funded and denied all best efforts to develop at an optimum or even acceptable pace for the past 14 years.

Well put, PRG.

[LESStar58]

The sooner people realise that it was the actions of a few people - hidden from the rest of the club - and not the club as a whole, the better.  The way some people continually talk about the Storm - players, coaches, trainers, support staff, members and supporters - is wrong.  It's suggesting that every one of us that has ever been involved with the club is just as guilty as the few guys responsible.  Yes, we're all dealing with the consequences and yes the punishment is deserved - but to suggest that we're all a bunch of cheats is just not on.

Amen.

[LESStar58]

We also want ALL the people involved in designing & structuring the rorts.
Not just the ones that it's 'safe' for News Ltd to finger as 'rats'.

I think it's pretty ironic that Waldron & Co got caught out NOT because Gallop & his band of happy misfits did / or do a good job of policing the cap but because.
A : An accurate & legal record was kept of all the overs.
B : An unhappy,(And dumped) player agents ratted them out,(strange that the News Ltd didn't name him in it;s report of 'people involved' ?)

When you consider the brown paperbag  economy & jobs for partners that has formed the backbone of rugby leagues overs system for decades.Isn't it hillarious that Melbourne came unstuck because ALL their paperwork was legal 

Brown paper bags are given to players who understand that this money is outside the cap.  He needed the paper trail to give different documents to different people.

I remember reading one player managers claims that some players in Sydney are payed their overs with the weekly takings of allocated poker machines. They empty it out at the end of the week, brown paper bag it and hand it over to the player manager who then passes it on to his client.

Another article which I can't find written by a Fairfax journo featured a parts of a convo he had with a player manager who suggested by taking such drastic action with the Storm the NRL was hitting the hornet's nest with waaaaaay to big a stick.

[Surandy]

Add to this the fact that people, places and businesses/sponsors want to get involved with the game but somehow the NRL seems to be against well funded, influential people being involved with running the game because they aren't from the News Ltd stable. We have, over time, as many as 6 teams knocking down the door for an NRL license (WA, CQ, CC, PNG, NZ2 etc). The NRL are told by consultants that expansion won't offer more value to the networks. What do the NRL do? They admit defeat and don't give it a second thought.

Actually, I disagree with this part.

Consultants generally tell their hirers what they want to hear. Gallop & News Ltd don't WANT expansion!

They had already expanded and they chose to walk away from some of that expansion, ie Adelaide and Perth.

[Rudski]

The Storm and their fans need to stop playing the victim and just accept that they got busted doing something very very bad

What did I do!? What did we all do, besides support our team, while everyone else was sticking the boot in??
Im going to keep playing the victim until everything is done and dusted because im 100% sure I had NO KNOWLEDGE of the rorting.. 

Yeah he got me


I do believe Rudski just got owned and duly had his sorry arse handed to him on a plate. Great post.

[Ice]

Yeah he got me

Well at least you can admit it which is something i spose. That said you couldn't really hide from the fact it was a ridiculously stupid comment you made in the first place.

[luvin.the.storm]

Yeah SHE got me