As the smoke continues to clear from Tuesday’s bombshell announcement, it seems that the fog has now rolled in. As Eels fans, we find ourselves with less answers and more questions.
Some of these questions include –
- How has the NRL arrived at the figure of the Eels being $570K over the salary cap? (Given the suggestion that it has included past TPAs, not to mention potential calculation errors, this is an important detail)
- If the salary cap calculations are proven to be in error, will this change any of the penalties put forward?
- Is anyone associated with alleged falsified invoices still working with the club?
- What weighting has been given to the evidence provided by Scott Seward?
- Was it appropriate for Todd Greenberg to be advising Scott Seward about providing evidence when he enjoyed both a professional and personal relationship with him?
- Specifically, what indiscretions have each of the deregistered individuals committed?To have reputations impugned in such a manner surely requires foundation that fans/members are entitled to know (legal issues notwithstanding)?
- Were any of our prior indiscretions counted in the current sanction? Eg Last year’s $465k fine accounted for several issues – were these written off or also included again in this breach?
Undoubtedly, it would be in everyone’s best interest for mediation to occur without anyone being publicly dragged through the mud. However, for the NRL to continue on it current course, with all stakeholders in the Parramatta club punished in some manner, the above questions must be answered. A battleground based on the evidence currently before us will not have any winners.
As a website that loves the game and loves our club, we are seeking answers. Given the magnitude of the punishments, it’s not too much to expect.
Miatch and Sixties.
Well said! I hope you forward this to various media outlets and the media. There is a smell about our front office, but there is zero transparency in what the NRL has said. The implication is that they are infallible and they could never possibly make a mistake! I for one am sick to death of journos like Paul Kent and Adrian P continually talking as if they know everything! If they do know everything, then serious questions need to be asked about the lack of professionalism being exhibited by the NRL as they are then clearly leaking, to the media, information that has been withheld from Eels management. Furthermore, as the five leaders were suspended, has any media person recognised the invidious position Parra would have been left in if the injunction wasn’t sort..would those left to get the Eels back under the cap have had “Eels” interests at heart? Possibly not!
PS I have no problems with being punished. But I am sick and tired of the continuous stream of bile that is coming through the media. Oh, when was the last time that Paul K wrote anything about “football”? He reminds me of My Nanna and her friend Mavis gossiping over the back fence about Mrs Johnson up the road. I wonder why Sterlo doesn’t like him?
On a different note, I would love Sterlo to get involved with the club!
Nice read Miatch.
Isn’t it weird how the Smh seem to break the salary cap stories, and the telegraph don’t..? Maybe I’m a cynic mate. And K McClymont is hardly a league lady….I’m reading with the interest these stories today, and ask how can no one in the NRL make a statement about any of this? If I’m charged by the police aren’t those charges listed specifically…?maybe not as I’ve never been charged (yet…!).
I have been an Eels tragic since 1973 & this issue has hurt more than any wooden spoon, However my heart bleeds blue & gold & that can never change. To my point, This has certainly been a stain on the game but it’s not just the Eels doing this, it’s the Eels that got caught. Now I do believe if we did it then we should be punished but all this started from rumours & there is a doozy on SMH today with a reporter saying he was given names of clubs these bagmen deliver money to player’s for. Is the NRL going to investigate the latest cap rorting rumours or is the investigation against the Eels exactly that, Against the Eels ( board ). It’s hard sitting here not knowing what the true fact really are, but I would hate to think the NRL would just let this accusation of cheating by other clubs go by the way side just like they did earlier with the Bronco’s.
Either way all I can do is support my beloved Eels.
Heads up boy’s, We will get through this & come out the other end stronger than ever.
Once again gents, spot on! These are the questions on the tip of every Eels fan’s tongue?
Not sure what to make of today’s lifting of the injunction of Steve Sharp and co though? Thought this may have been a bargaining opportunity with the NRL i.e. reduce points and we will stand down, the NRL don’t lose face. Going to be interesting who represents us now they have been stood down?
I wonder whether this is part of a negotiated settlement.
Well written piece gents and all relevant questions that need to be asked and answers provided for. The question now is does this keep being played out via the media or the club goes into closed door negotiations with the NRL. My bet is as soon as some of the mud from the Greenburg / Seward relationship starts to stick then the NRL will come to an agreed compromise.
Fella’s.
Simple & concise. As you say, there are more questions than answers. & no doubt also the questions list will get longer, as the answers list grows shorter. Like many I am about had enough as there whole thing has been so draining I can’t remember ever seeing any individual let alone 5 people convicted of a crime, tossed out of their positions, without any clarity in any sort of charges that have been laid against them.
I am therefore wondering where the finishing line will be, & whether truth & justice will prevail, will all the other clubs be looking over their shoulders as well, or just believe the eels will be the scapegoats for them all..
I tend to believe that no matter the outcome, the NRL will actually end up being the losers as well as the game, superleague possibly over again with the damage it created being rebirthed.
We’ve actually been quite respectful to the NRL in these questions. There are probably more questions that could be asked. However, it is important to not create an atmosphere of hostility with the NRL, as the football department try to focus on moving forward in their match preparations. A negotiated settlement is the much preferred option (as long as it involves Parra standing up to any erroneous or unsubstantiated evidence).
I’ve been extremely disappointed in the unprofessional manner of the NRL. It drip fed the media with reports on its findings as well as the final penalty prior to anybody directly affected and the club being notified. To me it was an orchestrated campaign to cause most damage to Parra and justify the penalty handed down. Things such as $3m of breaches, as espoused by TG, to me just doesn’t add up.
Now don’t get me wrong, by all means punish those involved, but do it in a professional manner, and present evidence in a transparent manner.
Also the perpetrator of the false invoices could probably be identified as the person who authorised either payment or receipt of the goods, whether this was known by the board would be interesting. Also if done by Seward the question to ask him was how and where did he learn this practice!
These and many more questions need to be answered. Kate McClymont and Four Corners need to get busy as I sniff a rather large storm brewing for the NRL at the end of all this that will rival “The Big League” story years ago that ended with Kevin Humphries having to stand down as boss of the League. Why oh why didn’t Greenberg use the opportunity to call a moratorium for all clubs (including Parramatta) and restructure the salary cap and TPA. Now, as more people become aware of the available rorts that all clubs are doing, more people will start coming forward with their stories of how TPA’s are being rorted. They will soon start coming out of the woodwork because of the unfair treatment of Parramatta. This has already gone too far for it not to end in tears for all concerned but it needs to be sorted behind closed doors asap. The media has gone strangely silent so something is happening.