Storm by name, storm by nature

Like everyone else who are not recent visitors from a distant galaxy, AussieRulesBlog has been considering the ramifications of the Melbourne Storm salary cap breaches and subsequent penalties (follow this link if you’re recently arrived from Andromeda).

 

Our first thought is/was that the penalties are extraordinarily harsh, most especially not allowing any premiership points for the 2010 season. No doubt, one could mount an argument that the current roster is tainted by the breaches — to the tune of $700k this year according to some sources — and therefore can’t be seen as legitimate.

 

Our next thought was to ponder how many of the Storm’s players will jump ship at the earliest opportunity. One presumes the ‘official’ contracts, at least, will be honoured so the players will be paid. As ultra-competitive athletes, presumably there is some pride at stake. . .the coming weeks will tell.

 

Following on, we began ruminating on differences between the NRL and AFL worlds and wondering about loyalty. NRL players, it must be said, seem to change teams with little more thought than Giacomo Casanova gave to changing beds! Being a ‘one-club player’ still retains much cachét in AFL circles and loyalty to the playing group appears to be a strong motivator for players.

 

In the only vaguely similar situation in AFL, there wasn’t a mass exodus from Carlton following their penalties for salary cap breaches, even though the net effect of those penalties was to doom the club to years of, at the very best, mediocrity.

 

With NRL not having a squeaky clean image in general, we also found ourselves pondering whether the harshness of the penalties had an element of Sydney’s long-standing antipathy for all things ‘Mexican’. Here was a heaven-sent opportunity to rub the too-successful by half Melbourne noses in excrement in some sort of Sodom accusing Gomorrah of being Godless parody. It’s hard to imagine many in Sydney shedding even crocodile tears on Melbourne’s plight.

 

We find ourselves fighting an urge to find a way to offer support to the beleaguered Storm. We are of a progressive bent and supporting the downtrodden is a natural instinct — except when it’s Carlton or Collingwood, when we gloat with ill-concealed glee. We had thought about visiting the new rectangular stadium and since soccer bores us to our bootstraps, NRL seemed the next best excuse, even though we consider it a rather Neanderthal sport. That instinct might win out does not lessen our loathing for rugby league.

 

Finally, we find ourselves somewhat disconcerted by Andrew’s hairy-chested assertion that he would have no hesitation stripping Premierships from a miscreant AFL club if the crime was heinous enough. We’re sure there are 16 clubs anxiously awaiting a list of capital crimes from AFL House. . .