NRL - Aussie League

[Shayne]

For the few League fans out there.

Warriors in a bit of kuk prior to season opening.

http://media.apn.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/mick1.jpgThe breaches occurred during the Mick Watson era at the Warriors. Michael Bradley / Getty Images

League: Plea to NRL: Don't take points off us

23.02.06
By Chris Rattue


The New Zealand Rugby League has entered the Warriors salary cap row, pleading with the NRL not to deduct any points from their 2006 campaign for the sake of the game in this country.

Dark clouds continued to gather yesterday with Warriors chairman Maurice Kidd confirming there were breaches of the A$3.25m cap in the past year or so.

"It's just a matter of the level," he told the Herald.

The NRL may take up to six points off the Warriors, who would be the first club in history to start below zero.

It would be a blow to league in a country where interest centres on one club.

A disconsolate NZRL chairman Sel Pearson even said: "They might as well default. Why get knocked around."

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said he was not told of potential problems when he signed for the job last September, before Wayne Scurrah had taken his place as the new chief executive and while general manager Spiro Tsiros was acting CEO.

"I'm disappointed because this is not something you want to go through but we've got a resilient group," said Cleary from the Gold Coast, where the Warriors will play a trial against the Bulldogs.

Player Tony Martin said: "It's tough enough to make the top eight without that happening."



Full story here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=000E220A-39A8-13FC-BAED83027AF1010E

[Moses]

That's bullshit if they only lose 6 points. Here's another article on the same thing, check the paragraph in bold..

30. NRL salary cap rorts exposed, again

Jeff Wall writes:

Whenever rugby union and Australian Rules are in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, you can pick out a club or player in the NRL to share the unfavourable limelight with them.

The other codes have had their handful with the Wallabies/NSW Waratahs Wendell Sailor behaving badly (again) and the West Coast Eagles' Ben Cousins in trouble (again). Now the NRL has its own nightmare, and a share of the bad headlines, thanks to an apparent, massive salary cap rort by the New Zealand Warriors.

One of the apparent breaches involves the funnelling of undeclared payments to players through the club owner Cullen Investments. Another involves paying for player agents to fly to and from New Zealand whenever they wanted. Perhaps a few players might be asking their agents whether they have "double-dipped" when it comes to travel expenses.

When the Warriors changed management – but not ownership – late last year, the NRL Salary Cap Auditor, Ian Schubert, began an audit of the Club's recent payments to players. Just as he did when he looked into the finances of the Bulldogs in 2002, Schubert has apparently found serious deficiencies, and has found them with the full co-operation of the Warriors' new management team.

The Bulldogs were fined half a million dollars and lost 37, yes 37, competition points taking them from the top of the table to the bottom in one day. If the breach by the Warriors is in the six figure level, then you can except the Warriors will get a similar penalty. But how do you deduct points from a team BEFORE the season starts?

What is more likely is that, if the deficiencies are confirmed, the Warriors will start the 2006 season with perhaps "minus six" competition points – meaning the club won't earn a premiership point until it has won four games.

Harsh? Maybe, but if the game is to be governed by a salary cap then serious breaches must attract more than monetary penalties. Deducting competition points is about the only effective penalty – and deterrent – the NRL can impose.

[Shayne]

Yesterday we went to watch the mighty NZ warriors. What an awesome game and probably the best Warriors game i have ever seen. Broncos were on the wrong end of that stick this weekend.

Anyone else get to see it or highlights of it?

[Shayne]

Noone cares but goooo the Warriors!!

[biffon]

im glad the warriors are up there they have had a poor run up till now so good on them!

Im hoping the Titans grab a semi's spot as they have some great players and a free flowing style i like to watch. imagine that first year in the comp and getting into the finals! wow what a mind bender!

[Shayne]

Titans were in the comp about 10 years ago but they lost the franchise. Unfortunately due to heavy injuries they are on a downward slide. 3 more wins for the warriors and they grab a home semi final place. Sweet!

[biffon]

im talking about the Gold Coast Titans
http://www.titans.com.au/

[Shayne]

So am i, sort of. What i meant is Gold Coast used to have a team.


The Titans commenced their inaugural season on March 18, 2007 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rugby_League_season_2007), at Brisbane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane)'s Suncorp Stadium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suncorp_Stadium). They are the second first grade rugby league team to have been based on the Gold Coast, the first being the ill-fated Gold Coast Giants/Seagulls/Chargers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Coast_Chargers), which existed from 1988 to 1998.

[Shayne]

Grrrrr. Raiders beat the Warriors on the weekend meaning a home semi final is looking doubtful. Shit.

Anyone watch the game?

[Nyala]

To be honest, I've tried getting interested in League but I get frustrated at the little backward passes when the players have fought for and won the ball....doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The only League I watch is the State of Origin and thats so I can support my son-in-laws opposing team - the Reds, Go Queensland!! I'm a die-hard Union supporter.

[Shayne]

Been to watch any league games live? Is awesome and ten times better than union. Every union game you game you get about 47mins playing time due to lineouts, dropouts, scrums, more scrums, scrum resets and more scrums. Yawn.

With league you get close to 77 mins playing time with the biggest brutes give bone crushing tackles. Makes for awesome viewing.

[Edmonsta]

I also try to get into it, but to me there's just not enough variation. Run, tackle, restart, run, tackle, restart.


But as you say - I'll hold my horses until I see a live game and am able to make a proper judgment... :smiley20:

[Patson]

I also try to get into it, but to me there's just not enough variation. Run, tackle, restart, run, tackle, restart.


But as you say - I'll hold my horses until I see a live game and am able to make a proper judgment... :smiley20:

i agree just cant get into it ....

runs away shoutin Shayne is gay hehehe:smiley36:

[Raevoyn]

I never cared for league until I lived in Aus, and then I could only bring myself to support the Warriors, trickey at Origin time, I'd relent at become a Cane Toad ...

[Chick]

6179

[barto11]

soccer's for gays...union all the way, league is just one long snore fest

[Raevoyn]

soccer's for gays...union all the way, league is just one long snore fest
Truer words never spoken!

[Patson]

so we agree Shayne is gay....

[biffon]

I enjoy watching league too, but it doesnt come close to a free running game of union... and in my opinion the players in union generally are more adventurous.

[Patson]

adventurous.... hmmmm like shayne....

[Nyala]

I'll take your advice, Shayne, and try to get to watch a live League game. I'd like to go to Origin, the atmosphere must be electric.

[Shayne]

Origin would be good. Who is the closest league team to you?

As Biffon said, free flowing game of union is awesome but they appear to be few and far between. Not the case in league.

[biffon]

the new union Stellenbosch rules are going to help that a lot i think...
there is still a bit of contention around the breakdown as to what is legal or not but the other rules allow for a free running game...

Kurtley Beale commented after the game last week that he is very fit and even he felt totally Stuffed!
What the new rules may inadvertently do though is gradually do away with the big props for more mobile players(no pie theives like Ollie Le Roux) as the bigger guys just would not cope with the pace.

i say bring it on!!

[Shayne]

Stellenbosch rules?

[Nyala]

I'm on the NSW/Vic border in an area that supports AFL so our closest League teams would be from the Sydney area. Most people in this area think Union is barbaric and uncouth...lol....although a few do follow League. But on the whole we are swamped by AFL - its the mainstream sport in Victoria and friendships are made and broken by the team you barrick for. For example - NEVER admit you support Collingwood - you'd become ostracised with immediate effect, but it's okay to support them if they are the only Vic team in the Grand Final.

But I digress.....I have tried to follow the Titans as I'm a super supporter of Matt Rogers but as we don't get much coverage here I really don't know much about the NRL world.

[Shayne]

Hey, i was at this game!

YouTube - warriors broncos fight

[Cez]

:smiley36: cool fight

[Shayne]

After the fight both teams were watching it on the big screen, high fiving each other :D

[Cez]

sounds about right - thats wat i enjoy about rugby

[Raevoyn]

Brilliant!