Cameron Smith in Salary Cap investigation

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estormboy
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I don't know what to make of this ..... ???

Watching Ch9 news and Danny Weilder with breaking news announces that Ian Schubert to fly down to Melbourne on Monday to look thru the Storm's books - in particular a deal with Fox Sports worth between $50-$100K in relation to Cam Smith

I can't find anything about it in the papers yet :?
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Surandy
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estormboy wrote:Watching Ch9 news and Danny Weilder
Nein & Weedler? Pfft, nothing to see here!
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While i know we've been done for some very minor cap breaches, i doubt very much we'd be so careless as to miss something so obvious and transparent as a Fox contract for our captain, especially in the $50-$100k range. I could be wrong but i just couldn't see the club being so stupid.
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:-k Have to do something to draw attention from the Titans salary cap breach - NO PROBLEM !
Pick on Melbourne time again - The Sydney media will love it.
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estormboy
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Following up on my earlier post with an article I found in the Daily Telegraph

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5846395304


PREMIERS Melbourne Storm powered to their third straight victory last night - then plunged head first into the NRL's latest salary-cap scandal.

Test hooker and Melbourne captain Cameron Smith became embroiled in a dispute over his employment with Fox Sports as a football commentator - a deal that was negotiated when he signed a new contract with the premiers last year.

The Sunday Telegraph understands a severance payout to recently departed forward Dallas Johnson is also under investigation. The allegations come 24 hours after serious claims were levelled against the Gold Coast Titans and their skipper Scott Prince.

Both clubs strenuously deny they are guilty of any cap breaches.

NRL boss David Gallop last night confirmed his salary-cap auditor Ian Schubert would head to Melbourne this week for a thorough examination of the Storm's books.

It is understood Smith signed a deal, negotiated by former Melbourne chief executive John Ribot, believed to be worth $100,000 with Fox Sports.

But Melbourne did not include the deal as part of their salary cap as a third-party sponsorship.

The club claims they have a letter from Fox Sports management declaring Smith was employed as a football expert and not because of his association with the Storm.

Smith said last night he wasn't concerned about the investigations, declaring he had done nothing wrong.

"As far as I'm concerned it's not an issue," Smith said. "It's something I can't give you too much information about. I do a fair bit of work for Fox Sports, I think if you tuned in last year, you would've seen me doing some commentary and I will next week with the under-20s.

"It's something I have an interest in, the media, so I can't really give you too much else. I don't see a problem.

"You see a lot of current players doing work with media outlets. You see guys on The Footy Show on Channel Nine all through the year and on other stations as well.

"It's not an area I look after. My job is too play football, not to look after contracts of players or deal with issues with the NRL. That's for (the Storm's) CEO Matt Hanson."

Asked if the drama would affect his on-field performances, Smith said: "No, I don't think so. It's really a non-issue for me. My job is to worry about my football and that's all I'll continue to do."

A Melbourne Storm official last night confirmed Smith had a contract with Fox Sports in 2009 that was cleared by the NRL, but the official says that same deal was red-flagged this year.

Schubert told the club this year he wanted $40,000 of the Fox Sports deal included in the cap.

Gallop last night indicated this latest development had come as no great surprise to the NRL because the game's governing body had known about the Fox Sports payments for some time.

"The salary-cap audits have recently been completed and there is a period now where issues of concern are raised with the clubs," Gallop said. "It's true that there is some issues with the Melbourne Storm and we are dealing with the club about them."

When asked if players other than Smith were involved, Gallop replied: "There are a number of issues."

Acting Melbourne chief executive Matt Hanson confirmed "the issues" relate to Johnson and his $45,000 termination payment.

Hanson said Schubert claims the Johnson payment should appear on the 2009 cap while Melbourne argue it should appear on the 2010.

Hanson was adamant his club had nothing to hide on both issues.

He said the NRL was fully aware of the Smith television deal.

"It's been on the table with the NRL for the past 18 months with Ian Schubert coming down to Melbourne to discuss the 2008 audit," Hanson said.

"This is certainly nothing new for us. But the problem is I had a meeting with David Gallop and Schubert two weeks ago to clarify this situation because we had had very little correspondence following that 2008 audit. We have nothing to hide. I welcome them down, it's all there on the books. Hopefully we can resolve this and get on with the season proper."
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bula
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2008 issue, Schubert just trying to look busy and probably wants a holiday on the Gold Coast and then to Melbourne.
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I hope this has nothing to do with Waldron's departure,

I hope he didn't see the writing on the wall, and decided to bail  out before the sh** hit the fan.
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Nah i reckon the only writing Wally saw to make him bail wasn't on the wall, it was the writing on the cheque the Rebels offered him  :o
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Has this matter been sorted out yet or are we still in danger of losing all our points?
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Still looking into it, from what I can gather we are in danger of a hefty fine, not points.
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Rumours around this morning that Storm could lose their points from the first 6 rounds because of this salary cap investigation.  Seems a bit extreme but I guess we should be prepared for the worst.  :icon_frown:
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where did that rumour come from??
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Play the ball wrote: I hope this has nothing to do with Waldron's departure,

I hope he didn't see the writing on the wall, and decided to bail  out before the sh** hit the fan.
March the 28th, nice piece of detective work .

Wish I could find it funny.
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