NRL General Discussion Thread

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Yeah, I dunno how you can expand when almost 90% of the clubs are running at a loss.
 
you can't expand while there are 9 Sydney teams.
 
ivanhungryjak said:
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...e/news-story/bb86e90d25b3c31d6a36bd2ae622d6de
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What became obvious during the visit north of the border is that Brisbane needs a second team.
Even the Broncos’ highly regarded chief executive Paul White said: “The city’s big enough and it’s growing.
“Competition and competitiveness drive innovation. I support the growth of our game and having a future direction beyond the next five-year cycle.”
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Nowhere does White say he wants a second Brisbane team, and why would he? It would be detrimental to the Broncos. I'd be willing to wager Rothfield asked him different questions to get these quotes out of him then proceeded to make up his own narrative.
 
Not sure if there's a thread discussing opposition teams for nexr year but i just had quick look through some of the rosters. I might turn out to be way off the mark but wow the Canberra team looks incredibly weak to me. The Wighton Sezar halves combination does not appeal at all to me. The forward pack as well seems very average to me with no real standout danger players. I acknowledge papali is a rep player but at club level never seems to stand out. Hodgsen at hooker could be dangerous or his form two years ago could be a once off.

I think I'd like too lock them in for a Smokey for wooden spoon. I'm sure many would disagree however.
 
Mightybroncs2k17 said:
Not sure if there's a thread discussing opposition teams for nexr year but i just had quick look through some of the rosters. I might turn out to be way off the mark but wow the Canberra team looks incredibly weak to me. The Wighton Sezar halves combination does not appeal at all to me. The forward pack as well seems very average to me with no real standout danger players. I acknowledge papali is a rep player but at club level never seems to stand out. Hodgsen at hooker could be dangerous or his form two years ago could be a once off.

I think I'd like too lock them in for a Smokey for wooden spoon. I'm sure many would disagree however.
Click to expand...

They've still got Sam Williams, he outplayed Sezer a good number of times last year. Chucking Wighton in the halves wouldn't last more than a few rounds.
 
https://outline.com/DH7X9V

Cameron Smith wants clarity as Storm battle salary cap conundrum

March 05, 2019
Storm captain Cameron Smith has sought assurances he will not be rubbed out of the NRL as Melbourne battles with a salary cap conundrum on the eve of the season.
The Storm are under pressure to offload at least one player to become salary cap compliant before they host the 2019 NRL season-opener against Brisbane on Thursday week.
Melbourne is currently believed to be up to $300,000 over its 2019 salary cap, however they have until Round 1 to become compliant.
The NRL confirmed to The Courier-Mail if a team is not compliant before playing a game, the last player signed by the club will be removed from its roster.
In Melbourne’s case that is Smith, the most capped player in NRL history with 384 games and the former Kangaroos and Queensland Origin captain.
On the eve of his 18th NRL season, Smith said he had sought assurances from Melbourne CEO Dave Donaghy that he would be cleared to face the Broncos.
“I’ve spoken to our CEO and he is very confident I’m going to be playing round one,” Smith said.
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Cameron Smith has sought assurances he will be clear to play the NRL season opener. Picture: Getty Images
“That’s all I need, his go-ahead that I’m going to be there. Anything to do with our salary cap has got nothing to do with myself or any other players. That’s not our role.
“We’re employed to play football the best we can and that’s all we can control.
“My only concern was whether I would be playing but my CEO has told me there’ll be no worries, I’ll be available in round one.”
The Storm are racing to offload unwanted prop Sam Kasiano to alleviate salary cap pressure.
The club is adamant it has no concerns about being compliant before hosting the Broncos at AAMI Park and NRL boss Todd Greenberg said it wasn’t an uncommon situation.
“It’s not uncommon in this point in time that clubs need to make decisions on roster management,” Greenberg said.
“I assume Melbourne are in that space. They’d have some company though as clubs start to get towards the requirements and prescriptive measures about how the compliance of the cap works.
“I expect they’re doing that work behind the scenes. There is good management and people there. I’m sure they’ll come up with the right answer.
“Cameron Smith has a registered contract with the NRL, but it’s up to the club to decide the roster management of its club.”
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Cameron Smith was the last player signed by the Storm for the 2019 season. Picture: Getty Images
Smith, 35, only re-signed in January following a drawn out contract negotiation, eventually securing a two-year extension.
He is on track to become the first NRL player to reach 400 games this season and admitted he may not play on in 2020.
“There’s no handshake deal, what was discussed during my negotiations was that throughout 2019 I’d be in constant conversation with Craig (Bellamy, coach) about my form and where he thought my place in the team was moving forward,” Smith said.
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“To be honest, that’s nothing different to any other year in my career. I’ve always spoken to Craig closely about my form and if he’s happy with the way I’ve been playing.
“I’ve got no idea (if I will retire this year). You’d have to ask me at the end of the year.
“My plan is to play well. That’s been my plan every year. I’m hoping I do that for our club this year.
“It will be through conversations with Craig about my form and whether that’s still good enough to be playing at the elite level.
“If it is then I’d say I’ll be considering playing on again.”
Smith said Jahrome Hughes would replace Billy Slater in the Storm’s No. 1 jersey after Scott Drinkwater was ruled out for three months with a torn pec.
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I think Broncos are a bit hard to rate right now. Everyone rates them based on potential, which is definitely insanely high. But a very young squad doesn't always play to their potential, so we just have to see how much those performances dip.
 
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Cameron Smith’s stunning call for NRL to return Melbourne’s stripped titles
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Cameron Smith has sensationally called for the NRL to consider handing back Melbourne the two titles they had stripped for salary-cap rorts after cheating rivals Cronulla escaped a premiership sanction.
Speaking at the code’s 2019 season launch in Sydney on Thursday night, Smith came out swinging, expressing his dismay at the Sharks retaining their 2016 premiership despite the NRL integrity unit uncovering a salary-cap breach last week.
Melbourne were embroiled in one of Australian sport’s biggest scandals in 2010 when the Storm were found to have cheated the salary cap by an estimated $1.7 million over a five-year period.
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Cameron Smith wants the NRL to reassess their stripped titles.
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Former NRL CEO David Gallop threw the book at the Storm, fining the club $1.1 million and stripping Melbourne of their 2007 and 2009 premierships, plus three minor premierships.
The current NRL administration, led by Todd Greenberg, last week issued Cronulla a breach notice proposing a $750,000 fine for systematic salary-cap rorts dating back to the 2013 season.
The NRL alleged the illegal payments did not affect their title-winning 2016 season, allowing the Sharks to keep the premiership they won, ironically by beating Melbourne.
Smith - the most-capped player in NRL history with 384 games - was left devastated by the Storm salary-cap affair and believes there are clear inconsistencies between the sanctions handed out to Cronulla and the Storm.
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Smith says Melbourne’s offences were similar to Cronulla’s in 2016. Picture: Stephen Cooper
Asked if current NRL boss Greenberg should look to reinstate Melbourne’s stripped premierships, Storm skipper Smith was unequivocal.
“Absolutely,” he said.
“They have a lot on their plate at the moment (with a spate of off-field scandals) and I don’t want to take away from some of the things that have happened over the past six months.
“But if the NRL can have a look back and go over what happened at the Storm over those years, they may find there is a different outcome.”
Sharks CEO Barry Russell quit on Tuesday after self-reporting Cronulla’s salary-cap irregularities.
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Melbourne had their 2007 and 2009 titles stripped.
While Smith did not dispute the Storm were guilty of serious salary-cap breaches, he says other offenders in recent years, such as Cronulla and Parramatta, did not receive such heavy-handed penalties.
“We were made to play an entire season without points,” Smith said.
“We had premierships taken off us - this (the Sharks salary-cap scandal) is almost like a similar crime with a completely different punishment.
“It (the Storm and Cronulla breaches) are reasonably similar.
“A lot of people got caught up in the overall amount we were over the cap. The NRL did a strategic job of using that entire amount ($1.7 million).
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“The most we were over in one season was $500,000.
“If you look over the course of time since 2010 until now, there’s a handful of clubs who have been over the cap by similar amounts and they haven’t been made to sit out a season or not play for points.
“They have been deducted four points and two points.
“For me the main differences I have seen with the new administration and that is Todd (Greenberg) being involved, he has taken the correct amount of time to go through all the information gathered and come to his decision, rather than seeing a club breach the salary cap and just wielding the axe.
“What happened to us was fairly harsh, we haven’t seen anything like it since.”
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I'm surprised it took him this long to try it on.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor...s/news-story/834201d91ac15cb3024d4217f6d225e0
 
Where is Cam getting the 500,000 figure from?

Melbourne spent 1.04 Million outside of the cap in 2010, which wasn't drastically different from their 2009 cap (1.021 Million). Were Melbourne somehow claiming to be 500K under the cap, with that roster?

I don't blame Smith either. The recent penalties aren't consistent with the Storm's punishment and it's amazing how nobody took anything out of the salary rort.
 
I absolutely understand where he's coming from, but the problem is not the premierships stripped from the Melbourne cheats, it's the premiership NOT stripped from the Cronulla financial AND drug cheats.
 
It's hard to argue with the logic. I'm no Melbourne supporter but I do believe in fairness and equity. If Melbourne's 500k breach is the same as others, give or take a few dollars then the other teams should be punished in the same manner and yes, I do mean Cronulla as well.
 
Porthoz said:
I absolutely understand where he's coming from, but the problem is not the premierships stripped from the Melbourne cheats, it's the premiership NOT stripped from the Cronulla financial AND drug cheats.
Click to expand...
Exactly.
 
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