Broncos remain NRL's cleanest club

[Kimlo]

Who do you blame and hate though, H/O, the players, if H/O then still support the players, if you blame and hate both H/O and players I hope you don't cheer for Qld.

If Raiders were done like the Storm I'd be pissed etc but they'd still be my club.

I can't like this post because I'm on my phone, but I like it.
To be honest, there's no way I'd stop supporting the club anyway, but I'd be very pissed off.

 

[Nashy]

Given how disinterested I am with NRL now because of cockheads ruining it, this would end my love for NRL. If the Broncos have cheated, they can get fucked.

I don't think they have though.

 

[austin71]

Given how disinterested I am with NRL now because of ****heads ruining it, this would end my love for NRL. If the Broncos have cheated, they can get ****ed.

I don't think they have though.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

 

[Huge]

Given how disinterested I am with NRL now because of cockheads ruining it, this would end my love for NRL. If the Broncos have cheated, they can get fucked.

I don't think they have though.

I never blame the club for these things because to me the club is the players, the team from coaches to waterpeople. It's not the managers or CEO or any of the people in those management positions. Most are just career types and will move on, making deals, climbing ladders and being self interested but they are not the club to me. It's these types who make the shady deals and irrespective of their actions and the consequences of those actions I will never hate what I consider to be the club.

Even if the Broncos rorted the cap like Melbourne I'd still be indifferent . This is a position I made crystal clear at the time of the Melbourne drama. I didn't paint myself into a corner and rage on about the terribleness of it all but I still took a firm stance. To me it doesn't make a scrap of difference what someone is paid as it has no bearing on performance or ability, just the capacity to retain the players you developed which for mine is largely irrelevant .

That said I'd be very surprised if the Broncos knowingly did much wrong, if anything at all.

 

[Russell Coight]

FORMER operations chief Andrew Gee is among Brisbane staff under investigation as part of an internal audit that uncovered financial irregularities in Broncos Leagues club accounts.

The Sunday Mail can reveal Gee, a 25-year Broncos legend, is in the crosshairs of concurrent Brisbane and NRL probes over allegations the Broncos cheated the salary cap by $450,000 over three years.
Broncos boss Paul White insists the explosive claims are “unsubstantiated” at this stage, but Gee is firmly under the microscope following his shock resignation last Tuesday.
A Sunday Mail investigation has learned:
* Deloitte forensic accountants will look into payment discrepancies and unproven allegations a Broncos employee misused leagues club money to fund NRL third-party agreements (TPAs);
* Broncos Leagues chiefs have detected anomalies in transactions, prompting an internal audit team to probe accounts of Brisbane’s $34.9 million empire;
* Brisbane prop Martin Kennedy’s contract will be examined in relation to a third-party agreement;
* The NRL will scrutinise the composition of Anthony Milford’s Broncos contract, which cannot be registered until round 13 next weekend;
* Broncos bookend Ben Hannant is owed more than $100,000 in a legal Marquee Player Allowance;
* The NRL probe could stretch back to 2009, when Dave Taylor’s management claimed the Broncos failed to honour a $40,000 TPA with the now Titans forward.
Broncos Leagues chairman Bruno Cullen confirmed the internal investigation and has offered to co-operate fully with the NRL and external auditors.
The parallel probes are multi-faceted and will not target Gee specifically.
But his activities as Brisbane’s recruitment manager will be closely examined, with the NRL to investigate whether Leagues Club funding was used to fund TPAs for Broncos players.
A three-man Broncos Leagues auditing team will probe all transactions over the last 12 months to pinpoint irregularities and whether any employees are guilty of misusing funds.
There is no suggestion Gee orchestrated a salary-cap breach as NRL salary-cap auditor Jamie L’Oste Brown presides over a review of the Brisbane group’s financials.
Gee did not return calls on Saturday, but Cullen insists Broncos Leagues, which has sponsorship ties with the football arm, has made no improper payments to players.
“We are conducting an internal investigation and I am more than happy to sit down with Jim Doyle (NRL integrity-unit boss) to discuss the situation,” Cullen said.
“We have an NRL-approved TPA with one of the Broncos’ players, but that is above-board, it has been passed with the NRL.
“I can confirm that the Broncos Leagues club has not negotiated with or paid any Broncos football players or their managers any money.
“The investigation is on-going and we hope it will be completed soon.”
The Broncos have declined to publicly detail the reasons behind Gee’s swift departure.
A 255-game Broncos legend, Gee was appointed general manager of football operations in 2010, earning $227,286 last year.
He had an intimate knowledge of Brisbane’s salary-cap position, with Gee responsible for the club’s recruitment, retention and list management.
The former Origin prop helped broker deals for big-name signings Ben Barba, Kennedy and Milford, who will join Brisbane next season.
The Sunday Mail understands Gee was summoned to meet senior Broncos executives last month. ASIC documents sighted by The Sunday Mail show Gee suddenly resigned as a Broncos Leagues director on April 28.
He then took a fortnight’s leave before quitting as football-operations boss last Tuesday, just hours before the NRL confirmed it was investigating the club for a possible salary-cap breach.
Several Broncos contracts will be analysed by NRL auditors, including the breakdown of Kennedy’s three-year deal after his departure from the Roosters last November.
Under NRL rules, clubs can help secure third-party deals for players but cannot guarantee the financial terms.
All TPAs must be disclosed to, and registered by, the NRL.
Should an external sponsor fail to pay a nominated player, the club cannot cover the player’s financial shortfall.
Any attempt to do so represents a salary-cap breach.
The NRL’s probe into the Broncos will seek to establish whether any improper third-party deals were struck.
And if they were properly declared, whether the relevant sponsor – not another entity – is meeting the payments.
In 2009, Taylor’s management claimed the Broncos reneged on a $40,000 TPA to Taylor. Cullen, then Broncos CEO, insisted no such sponsorship existed.
Canberra have privately raised concerns over Milford’s Broncos deal, with the young gun spurning a massive $1.1 million-a-season offer from the Raiders.
The NRL has previously refused to register contracts that do not represent market value in the salary cap, initially rejecting Greg Inglis’ deal with Souths in 2010.
Leading agent Sam Ayoub, who manages both Kennedy and Milford, said on Saturday night he had no concerns about his clients’ contracts.
“I don’t see any question on Anthony’s (Broncos) deal, it is straight-laced,” he said.
“Anthony’s deal represents market value, I don’t any issue with it being approved by the NRL.
“I’ve had no contact from the NRL in regards to any of my players’ deals and I don’t expect any contact about them.”
Hannant’s manager George Mimis declined to comment.
He confirmed the prop has an NRL-approved marquee-player deal which can be paid by the Broncos at any time before November 1.
Brisbane patriarch Maranta, who helped establish the Broncos in 1988, hopes the club has not engaged in a salary-cap rort.
“I know current hierarchy involved and they are honourable,” he said.
“I can only assume something has happened. I am puzzled like everyone else, it doesn’t seem to add up to me.
“I know nothing about Andrew Gee’s commercial skills, but I’d be bitterly disappointed if there is a salary-cap breach.
“I have my fingers crossed there is nothing untoward ... but at the moment I am troubled.”
Broncos CEO White said: “We are dealing with unsubstantiated allegations. It’s appropriate now the NRL fully investigate those allegations and report on the final outcome.”

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Can we just write off Kennedy's contract and be done with it?

 

[Porthoz]

After reading all of that, I have a sense of a storm brewing in a cup of water tbh.

The worst offence in there would be if anyone is guilty of using Broncos Leagues money to pay a TPA agreed with a different sponsor. Whomever it is, needs to be kicked out of anything Broncos related for life, besides getting the book thrown at.

There certainly doesn't look like anything systematic within Broncos ranks, and nowhere near the rort scandals of the past, with hidden cabinets with a second set of books. Still needs to be investigated, and the house has to be cleaned of any residual parasites!

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Cullen and Ayoub's quotes are reassuring, at least.

 

[pennywisealfie]

that looks promising

 

[Timmah6991]

DCE won't be out of the picture until he re-signs with Manly imo, although I'm not entirely sure where everyone will play if it does somehow happen.

1. Milford
6. Hunt
7. Cherry-Evans
9. McCullough

Barba in the centres maybe? He'd probably have to bulk up even more, and work extremely hard on his defense.

I'm trying my utmost to find the article, but I believe in SG Ball or one of the other lower grades Milford played centre because they were thin in that position.

EDIT:

Milford finds feet out wide

Toyota Cup sensation Anthony Milford will continue his development in the centres as the Canberra Raiders look to get back in the winners' circle against the Melbourne Storm today at AAMI Park.


Milford has made a seamless transition from halfback of the Raiders' SG Ball (under-18) team to become a key contributor in the three-quarter line in his past three under-20s appearances, and coach Andrew Dunemann doesn't want to rock the boat.


''I think it's [playing at centre] really helping him. He's just finding his feet out there with the boys and he's getting the ball in some good areas with some space,'' Dunemann said.


''He's had three games for us now out at centre and he was close to being our best player in all three.''

Milford forced his way into the Toyota Cup after a stellar campaign in the SG Ball competition in which he scored 157 points and was named Canberra's player of the year. The Raiders blew a chance to go to the top of the table in last Monday night's 32-30 loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons.​

​

 

[pennywisealfie]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Way to be a douche about it.

Good to see you would be 100% ok with cheating.

 

[austin71]

Way to be a douche about it.

Good to see you would be 100% ok with cheating.

You really think the Broncos would be cheating. Such little faith you have.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

If we're cheating, we're doing a really shit job of it.

 

[Mister Wright]

If today's article in the paper (the one quoted above) is anything to go by we'll cop a heavy fine at most. Although, watch drongos like James Hooper and Paul Kent try to stretch every inch out of this story with doomsday theories.

 

[LittleDavey]

Hannant missing $100k sure puts a different slant on the whole saga a couple of weeks ago.

Fix this shit now, we don't need the drama. Stability is key to any team!!

 

[pennywisealfie]

You really think the Broncos would be cheating. Such little faith you have.

It's a hypothetical, *if* we are cheating.

I'm still going to Suncorp today to wear my jersey with pride. I won't believe it until it happens, but if it does, I need to rethink a few things.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Latest pic of Andrew Gee

 

[Splinter]

That article was written by Pete Badel and Phil Rothfield