NRL warned it won't be easy to tear apart Storm squad
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PurpleBlooded
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STATHI PAXINOS
April 29, 2010
THE NRL has been warned it faces a complex legal fight if it attempts to impose its will to break up the Melbourne playing squad in the wake of the club's salary cap rorting.
Rugby League Players' Association chief executive David Garnsey said Storm players were keen to remain as a team and the NRL would not be allowed to ride roughshod over them. NRL management fears a repeat of the Bulldogs situation where a team that was guilty of cap breaches in 2002 won a premiership just two years later, with the core of the group remaining by taking salary cuts - something Storm players have also flagged their willingness to do.
''I think that's a very complex legal question and I don't think it's by any means something that the NRL can stick their stake in the sand and say they're not entitled to do,'' Garnsey said. ''But there's got to be a bit of water that flows under the bridge before we get to that question.''
NRL chief executive David Gallop yesterday seemed to give some hope the team would not be significantly altered next season by saying it was ''too early to say'' whether the Storm would need to shed players.
''[Salary cap auditor] Ian Schubert is in discussions with the Storm as to how to fix their problems and it's early days in those discussions at this stage,'' Gallop said. ''They're just trying to get a handle on the roster and the contractual obligations under it. Certainly there is a view that pay cuts do not solve the fairness issue for the rest of the clubs.''
Garnsey arrived at Storm headquarters yesterday to brief the players about their options, including whether there was an avenue for them to appeal the severity of the punishment, which includes being stripped of two premierships.
He said he did not directly ask for assurances from the players that they were not complicit in the deception.
''I can't be 100 per cent sure because I don't have the full details, but no player has indicated to me that he had [involvement],'' Garnsey said.
The NRL has engaged international accounting firm Ernst & Young to be ''on stand-by'' in case any new cap investigations occur.
''At a time like this there are invariably any number of rumours and we remind everyone we can only act where there is credible information,'' Gallop said.
''Certainly any club that was in possession of such information would be strongly encouraged to bring that forward. We do not believe that we are in a position to hold public inquiries and nor do we believe that would be a practical solution.
''We do not have the powers to take evidence on oath, we do not have judicial powers but we do have strong processes and rules in place.''
Schubert has returned to Sydney after two days in Melbourne. He will be assisted in his investigations by News Ltd's auditors, Deloitte.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... -tsj5.html
April 29, 2010
THE NRL has been warned it faces a complex legal fight if it attempts to impose its will to break up the Melbourne playing squad in the wake of the club's salary cap rorting.
Rugby League Players' Association chief executive David Garnsey said Storm players were keen to remain as a team and the NRL would not be allowed to ride roughshod over them. NRL management fears a repeat of the Bulldogs situation where a team that was guilty of cap breaches in 2002 won a premiership just two years later, with the core of the group remaining by taking salary cuts - something Storm players have also flagged their willingness to do.
''I think that's a very complex legal question and I don't think it's by any means something that the NRL can stick their stake in the sand and say they're not entitled to do,'' Garnsey said. ''But there's got to be a bit of water that flows under the bridge before we get to that question.''
NRL chief executive David Gallop yesterday seemed to give some hope the team would not be significantly altered next season by saying it was ''too early to say'' whether the Storm would need to shed players.
''[Salary cap auditor] Ian Schubert is in discussions with the Storm as to how to fix their problems and it's early days in those discussions at this stage,'' Gallop said. ''They're just trying to get a handle on the roster and the contractual obligations under it. Certainly there is a view that pay cuts do not solve the fairness issue for the rest of the clubs.''
Garnsey arrived at Storm headquarters yesterday to brief the players about their options, including whether there was an avenue for them to appeal the severity of the punishment, which includes being stripped of two premierships.
He said he did not directly ask for assurances from the players that they were not complicit in the deception.
''I can't be 100 per cent sure because I don't have the full details, but no player has indicated to me that he had [involvement],'' Garnsey said.
The NRL has engaged international accounting firm Ernst & Young to be ''on stand-by'' in case any new cap investigations occur.
''At a time like this there are invariably any number of rumours and we remind everyone we can only act where there is credible information,'' Gallop said.
''Certainly any club that was in possession of such information would be strongly encouraged to bring that forward. We do not believe that we are in a position to hold public inquiries and nor do we believe that would be a practical solution.
''We do not have the powers to take evidence on oath, we do not have judicial powers but we do have strong processes and rules in place.''
Schubert has returned to Sydney after two days in Melbourne. He will be assisted in his investigations by News Ltd's auditors, Deloitte.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... -tsj5.html
As many have already stated here and elsewhere i think we pretty much knew the NRL wouldn't legally have a leg to stand on in regards to dictating who can and can't stay on what money each player chooses. There's no doubt we're still going to lose some players and we all know that, but without that Noddy playing the heavy and trying to enforce that we can't take pay cuts the collateral damage may not be quite as bad should most players (who can afford to) agree to the cuts. Of course we won't know anything until they finish the investigations and find out exactly how much money we need to cut back on.
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LESStar58
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Gallop claims the loophole was closed after the Bulldogs thing but I reckon it'll be fought tooth and nail in the Storm's case...mind you, David Gallop generally doesn't really know what he's talking about.
[color=#400040]Melbourne Storm 2011:[/color] take your time, try not to forget, pay no mind to us... [color=#400080]WE'RE JUST A MINOR THREAT![/color]
Agreed. No doubt at all Gallop has tried to close the loophole after the Dogs saga but if it contravenes a higher law eg restraint of trade as has been mentioned then it doesn't matter what he says or what loophole he tried to close.