Biggest scandal/fraud in the history of Australian sports was revealed yesterday

kenyan_cheena · 04-22-2010, 07:57 PM

The Daily Telegraph | Breaking news, videos and pictures from Sydney, NSW, Australia and the world | DailyTelegraph

The Melbourne Storm, winners of two of the last four National Rugby League championships, were yesterday revealed to have been rorting the salary cap by a total of $1.7M during the last five years and a projected $700k this year.

As a result the administration of the game has stripped them of the two championships, ordered them to repay $1.1M in prize money, fined them $500k and taken away recognition of their victories this year and any other victories they record this year, which means they'll finish last in the competition.

This might not seem like a big deal to you guys over in the states with the millions of dollars teams spend each year but it is really the darkest day in the history of rugby league here in Australia.

MorseMoose · 04-22-2010, 08:01 PM

rorting?

kenyan_cheena · 04-22-2010, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorseMoose

rorting?

Is that not an American word? It means to break the rules.

canadiancreed · 04-22-2010, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Is that not an American word? It means to break the rules.

Nope that it is not.

turdfurgeson · 04-22-2010, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

Nope that it is not.

Looks like it is not a Canadian word either.

Bobbuttons · 04-22-2010, 11:33 PM

Justice will not be served until the administration awards the two newly rescinded titles to my South Sydney Rabbitohs.

scuffleball · 04-23-2010, 01:24 PM

They say you learn something new everyday. I can now use the term "rorting" in a sentence (and I will, maybe not today, but I will)

The NRL is a pretty big deal in Australia, yes? And that's rugby league, not union?

darkcloud4579 · 04-24-2010, 10:43 AM

Rort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interesting word and what a scandal. I'm amazed they managed to pull it off though. Wow.

KurtBevacqua · 04-29-2010, 11:42 PM

In American sports they would just strip the team of a third round draft choice and maybe tell the owner he couldn't attend 4 games and call it square. Good for the league for actually enforcing an appropriate penalty.

damientheomen3 · 04-29-2010, 11:57 PM

I'm probably not interpreting this correctly, but wouldn't the league notice if they were over the cap for 5 years? Or were they having some sort of backdoor operation where they were secretly paying players more money or something?

kenyan_cheena · 04-30-2010, 12:08 AM

Yep, it was the old "two sets of books" trick. Certain players were getting paid a series of small payments (say $15,000 at a time) by third parties and the club was not disclosing these payments to the NRL.

KurtBevacqua · 05-05-2010, 06:23 PM

I read this really bad book by Mike Lupica a few months back that was a fictional story of an NFL team where mafia friends of the owner paid the star wide receiver like $10M under the table to end his holdout and totally circumvent the salary cap. As I said, it was an awful book, but I wonder if players ever do get something under the table to circumvent the cap.

04-22-2010, 07:57 PM	#1
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Biggest scandal/fraud in the history of Australian sports was revealed yesterday The Daily Telegraph \| Breaking news, videos and pictures from Sydney, NSW, Australia and the world \| DailyTelegraph The Melbourne Storm, winners of two of the last four National Rugby League championships, were yesterday revealed to have been rorting the salary cap by a total of $1.7M during the last five years and a projected $700k this year. As a result the administration of the game has stripped them of the two championships, ordered them to repay $1.1M in prize money, fined them $500k and taken away recognition of their victories this year and any other victories they record this year, which means they'll finish last in the competition. This might not seem like a big deal to you guys over in the states with the millions of dollars teams spend each year but it is really the darkest day in the history of rugby league here in Australia.

04-22-2010, 11:33 PM	#6
Bobbuttons Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Picturesque Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio Posts: 3,708	Justice will not be served until the administration awards the two newly rescinded titles to my South Sydney Rabbitohs. __________________ Frankenstein never scared me. Marsupials do....cause they're fast! Gibson swings, and a fly ball to deep right field! This is gonna be a home run! Unbelievable! A home run for Gibson! And the Dodgers have won the game, 5 to 4; I don't believe what I just saw! I don't believe what I just saw!

04-23-2010, 01:24 PM	#7
scuffleball Major Leagues Join Date: May 2003 Location: USA Posts: 358	They say you learn something new everyday. I can now use the term "rorting" in a sentence (and I will, maybe not today, but I will) The NRL is a pretty big deal in Australia, yes? And that's rugby league, not union? __________________ I came. I saw. I played OOTP. The Storm Tigers - my book, check it out!

04-29-2010, 11:42 PM	#9
KurtBevacqua Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,968	In American sports they would just strip the team of a third round draft choice and maybe tell the owner he couldn't attend 4 games and call it square. Good for the league for actually enforcing an appropriate penalty. __________________ "The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man" - William Graham Sumner

04-30-2010, 12:08 AM	#11
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	Yep, it was the old "two sets of books" trick. Certain players were getting paid a series of small payments (say $15,000 at a time) by third parties and the club was not disclosing these payments to the NRL. Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 04-30-2010 at 12:14 AM.

04-22-2010, 08:01 PM	#2
MorseMoose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 6,023 Infractions: 1/1 (1)	rorting?

04-24-2010, 10:43 AM	#8
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	Rort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Interesting word and what a scandal. I'm amazed they managed to pull it off though. Wow.

05-05-2010, 06:23 PM	#12
KurtBevacqua Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,968	I read this really bad book by Mike Lupica a few months back that was a fictional story of an NFL team where mafia friends of the owner paid the star wide receiver like $10M under the table to end his holdout and totally circumvent the salary cap. As I said, it was an awful book, but I wonder if players ever do get something under the table to circumvent the cap. __________________ "The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man" - William Graham Sumner