Matt John's 2008 Melb excuse...

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You must be about the only Manly fan I know that sticks up for the drizzle for what they did! The unfair advantage they created prevented other clubs in what was supposed to be a fair and just competition from having success. As much as it pains me Parramatta were also denied by this process that they used and to say that the 08 victory was hollow due to Scam Smith being correctly rubbed out is ridiculous. That day for most of us was one of the greatest days we will ever see.

I was at the 07 grand final and I saw our best player taken out with the game the balance and then watched our team be smashed by a team that we learned later had a massive unfair advantage.

What they did stay is the history of the game as one of the worst ever scandals.

I visited Drizzle park in 2017 and I watched them commemorate their illegal win in 2007 showing highlights of what Croker did to Brett.

I love the game, I love the contest, what I cant stand is blatant cheating and this occurred and not one Drizzle player or official has ever taken responsibility for what they did!

This is what they are remembered for by many fans from all other clubs. They are feted as a benchmark of professionalism and success. To me they are a benchmark of deception, cheating and arrogance and I am old enough to remember the dominance of certain clubs in certain eras, Manly in the 70s, Parra and the Bulldogs in the 80s, Canberra in the 90s. Those teams played by the rules and were wonderfully successful.

The Melbourne Drizzle spawned from the Super League war, run by Ribot and it was a gift from News Limited and he used the blue print that the Broncos use when building the Storm. I understand that the NRL want a successful team in Victoria for the sake of the national game. I am not ignorant when it comes to how the Storm turn ordinary players into good ones. That is on the record as their success.

I would hate to see Manly use their blue print for success. Clubs are all about culture and we are lucky that over the years we have had plenty of success winning premierships in a fair and just way. Melbourne cannot say that all of their success is clean, that is their legacy!!
Canberra in the 1990s - they were busted for salary cap breaches in 1991. So they were not angels either.
 
You must be about the only Manly fan I know that sticks up for the drizzle for what they did! The unfair advantage they created prevented other clubs in what was supposed to be a fair and just competition from having success. As much as it pains me Parramatta were also denied by this process that they used and to say that the 08 victory was hollow due to Scam Smith being correctly rubbed out is ridiculous. That day for most of us was one of the greatest days we will ever see.

I was at the 07 grand final and I saw our best player taken out with the game the balance and then watched our team be smashed by a team that we learned later had a massive unfair advantage.

What they did stay is the history of the game as one of the worst ever scandals.

I visited Drizzle park in 2017 and I watched them commemorate their illegal win in 2007 showing highlights of what Croker did to Brett.

I love the game, I love the contest, what I cant stand is blatant cheating and this occurred and not one Drizzle player or official has ever taken responsibility for what they did!

This is what they are remembered for by many fans from all other clubs. They are feted as a benchmark of professionalism and success. To me they are a benchmark of deception, cheating and arrogance and I am old enough to remember the dominance of certain clubs in certain eras, Manly in the 70s, Parra and the Bulldogs in the 80s, Canberra in the 90s. Those teams played by the rules and were wonderfully successful.

The Melborne Drizzle spawned from the Super League war, run by Ribot and it was a gift from News Limited and he used the blue print that the Broncos use when building the Storm. I understand that the NRL want a successful team in Victoria for the sake of the national game. I am not ignorant when it comes to how the Storm turn ordinary players into good ones. That is on the record as their success.

I would hate to see Manly use their blue print for success. Clubs are all about culture and we are lucky that over the years we have had plenty of success winning premierships in a fair and just way. Melbourne cannot say that all of their success is clean, that is their legacy!
Yes it was a grubby act that sent Brett off the field but in saying that I don't think the intention was to be illegal about hurting Brett, just to hit Brett hard and hurt under intense pressure.

Superb long hang time bomb, enthusiastic high intensity chases and Brett courageously taking the bomb that was probably spiraling away all the way down to a low catching position all contributed to what happened.

The main issue Manly should of been looking at in the video analysis is the lack of Manly players going in to assist Brett with some kind of shielding(it was only 1min into the second half, no excuses due to fatigue), players all around were just jogging back with no urgency to assist.

At the time I said a huge part of Melb's success is to do with structures, recruitment, training and analysis but was laughed off with "they only win due to cheating the cap and retaining the big 4", time has proven what Melb do is far ahead of most clubs and are still at the top to this day over a decade later.

Melb developed 90% of the great talent from average beginnings, trying to retain such quality while having to pay overs because they were all playing away from home and getting huge offers from other clubs was also not an even playing field.

Remember Manly purchased over the years Kite, Bell and Orford along with Ben Kennedy(and to a lesser extent an out of form Josh Perry) to bring Manly back to a competitive outfit along with Lyon----all these players were at a very developed stage when Manly recruited them.

My opinion is other clubs "cheated" to the same magnitude or even more during this period of the game, without having any proof other than putting two and two together and using a little logic.
 
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Yes it was a grubby act that sent Brett off the field but in saying that I don't think the intention was to be illegal about hurting Brett, just to hit Brett hard and hurt under intense pressure.

Superb long hang time bomb, enthusiastic high intensity chases and Brett courageously taking the bomb that was probably spiraling away all the way down to a low catching position all contributed to what happened.

The main issue Manly should of been looking at in the video analysis is the lack of Manly players going in to assist Brett with some kind of shielding(it was only 1min into the second half, no excuses due to fatigue), players all around were just jogging back with no urgency to assist.

At the time I said a huge part of Melb's success is to do with structures, recruitment, training and analysis but was laughed off with "they only win due to cheating the cap and retaining the big 4", time has proven what Melb do is far ahead of most clubs and are still at the top to this day over a decade later.

Melb developed 90% of the great talent from average beginnings, trying to retain such quality while having to pay overs because they were all playing away from home and getting huge offers from other clubs was also not an even playing field.

Remember Manly purchased over the years Kite, Bell and Orford along with Ben Kennedy(and to a lesser extent an out of form Josh Perry) to bring Manly back to a competitive outfit along with Lyon----all these players were at a very developed stage when Manly recruited them.

My opinion is other clubs "cheated" to the same magnitude or even more during this period of the game, without having any proof other than putting two and two together and using a little logic.
I am beginning to wonder if you really are Bellyache in disguise?

The world saw what Crocker did to Brett and how it changed the nature of that game. Sure the odds were we where not going to win that game but that play ensured it.

The structure and recruitment that you refer to was bankrolled by News Limited giving them unlimited funding to sign the talent that they wanted. Its a fact of life that after 22 years of existence you can count on one hand the number of Victorian born players they have produced.

They continue to get a free hand in SE Queensland and at the time they used their wealth to acquire players and dont forget the damming double contracts that their so called stars signed. It was deception at the highest level and make a mockery of a fair competition and forever taints their so called success from that era.

Manly like other clubs purchased players WITHIN the rules of the salary cap! We lost players from our winning teams because of the requirement to manage the cap.

The NRL turned a blind eye for years all in the cause of having a successful team in Melbourne for the sake of the national game.

In modern times I will concede that they have managed to produce players who were going no where in their careers an that is a credit to them.
In the wash up, they are the only club in the game to have premierships stripped off them for their deliberate cheating and although other clubs have also been sanctioned including our one. The stain of what they did lingers on.

That is fact!
 
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I am beginning to wonder if you really are Bellyache in disguise?

The world saw what Crocker did to Brett and how it changed the nature of that game. Sure the odds were we where not going to win that game but that play ensured it.

The structure and recruitment that you refer to was bankrolled by News Limited giving them unlimited funding to sign the talent that they wanted. Its a fact of life that after 22 years of existence you can count on one hand the number of Victorian born players they have produced.

They continue to get a free hand in SE Queensland and at the time they used their wealth to acquire players and dont forget the damming double contracts that their so called stars signed. It was deception at the highest level and make a mockery of a fair competition and forever taints their so called success from that era.

Manly like other clubs purchased players WITHIN the rules of the salary cap! We lost players from our winning teams because of the requirement to manage the cap.

The NRL turned a blind eye for years all in the cause of having a successful team in Melbourne for the sake of the national game.

In modern times I will concede that they have managed to produce players who were going no where in their careers an that is a credit to them.
In the wash up, they are the only club in the game to have premierships stripped off them for their deliberate cheating and although other clubs have also been sanctioned including our one. The stain of what they did lingers on.

That is fact!
Not facts at all.

Cam Smith, Cronk, Slater were all unwanted plain and simple, Brisbane had every chance with more funds and influence in the area to retain and develop such players along with the likes of Ballin etc and didn't-----that is "fact"

Melb's job is to be successful and by doing so that promotes the game in Victoria, for the most part it is the NRL's job to fund and develop in the state with Melb assisting. It is growing very slowly but even AFL in NSW had similar issues but with faster growth due to more people playing the game in NSW from the outset along with the AFL really funding the growth of the game with huge amounts of money.(the NRL pretty much just expects Melb to do everything on top of run a club)

Good structures and to be technically correct in a variety of areas in the game for the most part is mostly not about funding(yes funding the best video analysts along with having ample staff in training helps but for the most part it is Bellamy that drives and directs how he wants the team to play)

Every club has had issues with the cap and been fined---for a period i think Manly were the only club not to face any fines in relation to exceeding the cap. To me if every club has now been caught this suggests to me for the most part(especially back in the mid to late 2000's) it was accepted behaviour and you did as much as the club was financially capable of providing to cheat the cap.

Melb was made a scapegoat plain and simple and other clubs should look at themselves and thank their lucky stars the spotlight was not on them.

Do you really think the values required to retain all their big players was a number Melb just picked off the top of their heads-----it was other clubs that were willing to exceed the cap also and do dodgy deals to attract such players that determined the final asking price.

To me all their premierships stand and the way Melb proved everyone wrong since, in relation to still being successful and at the top winning GF's is something to admire.

Melb rarely purchase complete players, always turning unknowns or average players into top class performers---not many clubs are capable of going down this path to success.(Penrith have done well in recent times with junior development though)

The competition has never been fair, it has been fair in respect to every club having the opportunity to exceed the cap if their funds allowed it.
 
Not facts at all.

Cam Smith, Cronk, Slater were all unwanted plain and simple, Brisbane had every chance with more funds and influence in the area to retain and develop such players along with the likes of Ballin etc and didn't-----that is "fact"

Melb's job is to be successful and by doing so that promotes the game in Victoria, for the most part it is the NRL's job to fund and develop in the state with Melb assisting. It is growing very slowly but even AFL in NSW had similar issues but with faster growth due to more people playing the game in NSW from the outset along with the AFL really funding the growth of the game with huge amounts of money.(the NRL pretty much just expects Melb to do everything on top of run a club)

Good structures and to be technically correct in a variety of areas in the game for the most part is mostly not about funding(yes funding the best video analysts along with having ample staff in training helps but for the most part it is Bellamy that drives and directs how he wants the team to play)

Every club has had issues with the cap and been fined---for a period i think Manly were the only club not to face any fines in relation to exceeding the cap. To me if every club has now been caught this suggests to me for the most part(especially back in the mid to late 2000's) it was accepted behaviour and you did as much as the club was financially capable of providing to cheat the cap.

Melb was made a scapegoat plain and simple and other clubs should look at themselves and thank their lucky stars the spotlight was not on them.

Do you really think the values required to retain all their big players was a number Melb just picked off the top of their heads-----it was other clubs that were willing to exceed the cap also and do dodgy deals to attract such players that determined the final asking price.

To me all their premierships stand and the way Melb proved everyone wrong since, in relation to still being successful and at the top winning GF's is something to admire.

Melb rarely purchase complete players, always turning unknowns or average players into top class performers---not many clubs are capable of going down this path to success.(Penrith have done well in recent times with junior development though)

The competition has never been fair, it has been fair in respect to every club having the opportunity to exceed the cap if their funds allowed it.
I have one question for you. Are you comfortable that the leading Melbourne Storm players of the era of 2006-2010 signed two contracts? This is the proof that their crime got the punishment it deserved!

If you want to defend a team that robbed our club and others of success because of their blatant cheating then you can be on the wrong side of history!
 
Love watching the semi's, can't bring myself to watch GF any more, keep seeing that grub kneeing and kicking players as they scored their tries...
It shows how much teflon Slater had on him that he could do all this disgraceful grubby crap consistently and rarely get in trouble from the judiciary. He should have gone for 12 weeks after the 2008 GF for the many times he assaulted the scoring players. Let's not get started on the 2007 GF where he and Crocker took Brett Stewart's head off.
 
I have one question for you. Are you comfortable that the leading Melbourne Storm players of the era of 2006-2010 signed two contracts? This is the proof that their crime got the punishment it deserved!

If you want to defend a team that robbed our club and others of success because of their blatant cheating then you can be on the wrong side of history!
Signing two contracts, paper bag deals, hidden sponsorship deals, cash in hand etc etc what difference does it make.

The Melb club put in a lot of time and effort into those players along with trying to make the club a success in a new market, good on them for paying those players what they are worth and showing loyalty(in terms of saying FU to the NRL we are keeping these players and they are not moving on)

There should be no salary cap in general full stop but that is another topic all together.

I don't see it as cheating when history past and present suggests such acts are rampant in the NRL.

I am more than convinced with zero hard evidence other clubs especially one in particular were laughing at the cap.
 
Not facts at all.

Cam Smith, Cronk, Slater were all unwanted plain and simple, Brisbane had every chance with more funds and influence in the area to retain and develop such players along with the likes of Ballin etc and didn't-----that is "fact"

Melb's job is to be successful and by doing so that promotes the game in Victoria, for the most part it is the NRL's job to fund and develop in the state with Melb assisting. It is growing very slowly but even AFL in NSW had similar issues but with faster growth due to more people playing the game in NSW from the outset along with the AFL really funding the growth of the game with huge amounts of money.(the NRL pretty much just expects Melb to do everything on top of run a club)

Good structures and to be technically correct in a variety of areas in the game for the most part is mostly not about funding(yes funding the best video analysts along with having ample staff in training helps but for the most part it is Bellamy that drives and directs how he wants the team to play)

Every club has had issues with the cap and been fined---for a period i think Manly were the only club not to face any fines in relation to exceeding the cap. To me if every club has now been caught this suggests to me for the most part(especially back in the mid to late 2000's) it was accepted behaviour and you did as much as the club was financially capable of providing to cheat the cap.

Melb was made a scapegoat plain and simple and other clubs should look at themselves and thank their lucky stars the spotlight was not on them.

Do you really think the values required to retain all their big players was a number Melb just picked off the top of their heads-----it was other clubs that were willing to exceed the cap also and do dodgy deals to attract such players that determined the final asking price.

To me all their premierships stand and the way Melb proved everyone wrong since, in relation to still being successful and at the top winning GF's is something to admire.

Melb rarely purchase complete players, always turning unknowns or average players into top class performers---not many clubs are capable of going down this path to success.(Penrith have done well in recent times with junior development though)

The competition has never been fair, it has been fair in respect to every club having the opportunity to exceed the cap if their funds allowed it.
I agree with most of what you’re saying g except for the Storm deserve those stripped premierships. THEY CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT.

They don’t deserve them at all. They kept the sane team for many years that they could not afford. But you are right in saying they produce great players out of nothing. They have great systems but let’s not kid ourselves about what they deserve.
 
I agree with most of what you’re saying g except for the Storm deserve those stripped premierships. THEY CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT.

They don’t deserve them at all. They kept the sane team for many years that they could not afford. But you are right in saying they produce great players out of nothing. They have great systems but let’s not kid ourselves about what they deserve.
I would of been fine with Manly cheating the cap to retain players like DCE and Foran who Manly developed, i'm less fine when teams purchase players and exceed the cap.
 
Signing two contracts, paper bag deals, hidden sponsorship deals, cash in hand etc etc what difference does it make.

The Melb club put in a lot of time and effort into those players along with trying to make the club a success in a new market, good on them for paying those players what they are worth and showing loyalty(in terms of saying FU to the NRL we are keeping these players and they are not moving on)

There should be no salary cap in general full stop but that is another topic all together.

I don't see it as cheating when history past and present suggests such acts are rampant in the NRL.

I am more than convinced with zero hard evidence other clubs especially one in particular were laughing at the cap.
So you are suggesting that we have no salary cap? Well that would be in the current climate the death knell of our and many other clubs and you would have the rich clubs winning every year. Gosh that is short sighted!

Melbourne put in effort, our club and others put in effort and unlike the Drizzle played by the rules!

I do agree with you on one thing. There is widespread rorting of the cap and its as rampant today and the NRL needs to start again when it comes to how it is enforced especially third party payments and reward clubs for loyalty and bringing through juniors and prospects rather than penalise clubs for their success.

The era that Melbourne did this they got caught red handed. never showed an ounce of remorse for it. That is sad. Win at all costs, if that is their culture, they are welcome to it!
 
I don't see it as cheating when history past and present suggests such acts are rampant in the NRL.
Sorry but that is a bit like saying most people have had the odd toke on a joint in their lifetimes so wheres the harm in importing 2 tonnes of Ice.
The sheer scale of the Storm cheating and the sophisticated cover-ups put it on a different level to other clubs that have been busted.
As for Manly's breach, I'm still waiting for someone to explain in plain English exactly what we did wrong.
 
One area Melbourne has excelled is in recruiting star juniors and other young players who haven't yet established themselves as top performers, and then developing them in their system to become top level players.

Rather than the other method of buying established players to fill various gaps in your roster. Most clubs rely on this method, but the Chooks are far and away the best at it.

Manly appears to be increasingly relying on the same strategy as Storm, with just the odd experienced player coming into the squad each year.
 
One area Melbourne has excelled is in recruiting star juniors and other young players who haven't yet established themselves as top performers, and then developing them in their system to become top level players.

Rather that the other method of buying established players to fill various gaps in your roster. Most clubs rely on this method, but the Chooks are far and away the best at it.

Manly appears to be increasingly relying on the same strategy as Storm, with just the odd experienced player coming into the squad each year.

And this is an area where they get far too much credit for supposedly developing ‘nobodies’ into great players. They have a long history of buying up the very best junior prospects - do people not realise every single club was aware, for example, of the talent of a teenage Greg Inglis? Melbourne had the bigger bankroll to chuck at him, but any club would’ve happily signed him at the same NSW CHS carnival, given the chance. And he’s not the only one. Sign up the majority of the Australian Schoolboys squad, you’re bound to find a good ‘un or two in there.

Yes, there have been journeymen who have done well at Melbourne - slotting into a side already stacked with very good players who make those around them look better. Develop a champion squad through your actual junior systems - a la Penrith - and I might be impressed.
 
I agree with most of what you’re saying g except for the Storm deserve those stripped premierships. THEY CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT.

They don’t deserve them at all. They kept the sane team for many years that they could not afford. But you are right in saying they produce great players out of nothing. They have great systems but let’s not kid ourselves about what they deserve.
Well said feathered friend . They cheated and got caught .

Signing two contracts, paper bag deals, hidden sponsorship deals, cash in hand etc etc what difference does it make ?

This is what difference the Storm made ....
The news was referred to by The Age newspaper as "The biggest scandal in Australian sports history as the club was left with "dishonour and shame". No club had ever been stripped of a competition title in 102 years of professional rugby league in Australia. One fan dumped his jerseys and other memorabilia at the team's Carlton headquarters on hearing about the incident, while others simply broke into tears



The Hall of Shame list and the Storm top the lot

1. The Melbourne Storm (NRL 2010)
Unquestionably the king of salary cap penalties, the Melbourne Storm were heavily penalised after the National Rugby League uncovered breaches estimated to be in excess of $1.7million over five years, around $400,000 in 2009 and with a projected breach of $700,000 in 2010. The League also found that the Storm had kept a dual contract system, as well as secret side letters detailing extra payments that were apparently found in the safe of the clubs chief executive.
The Club was stripped of its 2008 and 2009 premierships (these were not awarded to the opposition clubs either), prevented from earning any competition points in 2010, forced to repay 1.1 million in prize money and fined another $500,000.
2. Parramatta Eels (NRL 2016)
In March 2016, it was revealed that the Eels had openly been discussing ways to avoid to subvert the salary cap at board level, prompting a full investigation by the National Rugby League, which later found the club had engaged in systematic cheating of the cap by offering additional payments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to players and securing secret third party payments.
The Club was penalised the maximum fine of $1,000,000 (the NRL had earlier offered to suspend $250,000 of the fine, but that changed when it was revealed that planning to undermine the cap had continued up until February this year), stripped of 12 competition points, stripped of its Auckland Nines win at the start of the year, and five officials were deregistered by the league. In addition, the clubs favourable points for and against differential was removed.
3. The Carlton Blues (AFL 2002)
Having had relatively minor breaches of the salary cap in 1994, 1999 and 2001 resulting in varying penalties ranging from $40,000 to $120,000 (and exclusion from the 2000 preseason draft), it was something of a surprise to no one when the Blues were caught red handed in 2002 having paid at least 4 players (Craig Bradley, Stephen O’Reilly, Stephen Silvagni and Fraser Brown), and up to 7 players under the table in previous years.
The AFL commission fined the Carlton football Club $930,000 including $872,424 for current breaches and a further $57,526 remaining from suspended sentences from breaches in 1999. In addition, the club was denied its first two selections in the 2002 National draft, as well as their second and third draft picks – their first pick would be at 45. Further the Blues were penalised the first and second round picks in the 2003 draft, and the 2002 Preseason draft
4. Canterbury Bulldogs (NRL 2002)
The Bulldogs were stripped of points and fined after the National Rugby League found them guilty of systematic breaches of the salary cap totally more than $1 million of the 2001-2002 period.
In response, the league hit back hard, fining the club $500,000 and stripping them of the 37 competition points they’d earned in 2002, relegating them to the bottom of the league ladder with 3 rounds to go, effectively ending the clubs season.
5. The Melbourne Demons (AFL 1999)
In 1999, Melbourne President Joseph Gutnick volunteered information to the Australian Football league that showed salary cap breaches totalling $810,000 between 1995 and 1998.
The League proceeded to fine the club $600,000 (of which $250,000 was suspended), and the club lost its 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks at the national draft for two years.
6. The Adelaide Crows (AFL 2012)
Allegations surfaced in 2012 that Kurt Tippett and the Adelaide Football Club had a secret arrangement that may have involved an extra $200,000 payment and the promise to trade him wherever he wanted to go.
An AFL investigation allegedly found draft tampering, salary cap breaches and implicated the club, senior officials and Kurt Tippet, as well as club sponsor, Balfours.
Adelaide was fined $300,000 and prohibited from the first two rounds of the 2013 draft – something they offered voluntarily early on – and from gaining father-son picks at that draft, however the club could trade back in to the early rounds. Steven Trigg was fined $50,000 and given 12 months suspension, John Reid was given a similar 12 months suspension, and Phil Harper was suspended for 2 months. Kurt Tippertt recieved an 11 match suspension and was not permitted to play in the preseason.
7. The Essendon Bombers (AFL 1996)
In 1996, a joint investigation between the Australian Football League and the Australian Tax Office into Essendons finances found that the club had breached the salary cap by more than $514,000 between 1991 and 1996. The investigation started when the AFL was notified of the existence of a document showing that Mark Harvey had received more than $30,000 in incentives outside of his official contract in 1997.
The Bombers were fined $388,000 for both salary cap breaches and draft tampering and hit with a further $250,000 in back taxes by the ATO. The AFL also stripped Essendon of their first two picks in the 1999 national draft and froze them out of the pre-season and rookie drafts entirely.
 
Sorry but that is a bit like saying most people have had the odd toke on a joint in their lifetimes so wheres the harm in importing 2 tonnes of Ice.
The sheer scale of the Storm cheating and the sophisticated cover-ups put it on a different level to other clubs that have been busted.
As for Manly's breach, I'm still waiting for someone to explain in plain English exactly what we did wrong.
Difference being that most people have not had the odd toke on a joint compared to--- it is fact that we know all clubs have exceeded the cap.

Melb went to another level because of the pressure applied in terms of fighting off other clubs willing to do the same to purchase their talent, on top of having to pay a premium to players to stick with a club so far away from home.

Also "normal" employment in companies does not have a "cap" in terms of what you can pay someone, there is a budget but it is not a hard cap.

Clubs should be the same as any other company, you make a budget and pay within your means or beyond it knowing the risks and rewards.

Not into clubs being saved from themselves, let clubs go broke if they overspend or let them die if they become insignificant and weak. This in itself can generate more interest and financial resources because people feel more invested in a clubs future and success, fans don't appreciate how lucky they are to have a club under a salary cap, it just makes fans lazy and stifles innovation to survive and prosper.

Your analogy doesn't even work well with this instance, it's more like "most people have a toke of a joint in their lifetime so let's go hard on one person(to make an example of) and almost ruin their entire life even if they just acted like many or most of the time."

In some ways maybe the NRL were happy to make Melb the scapegoat because Melb was never going to be cut----they are too important for national tv broadcasts and the promotion of the game in Victoria looking through the bigger picture.(plus even bad publicity made the club a household name through the news cycle in Victoria)

If a Sydney club was exposed probably would of been the end for most or a long road back to being competitive again.
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
3 2 1 45 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 22 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
3 2 1 10 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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