Warriors in salary cap investigation

[brn2bwyld]

intelligence differs from player to player. eg Shane webke speaks well amd is a fairly intelligent bloke. Matt sing can barely string 2 words together

[Queenslander]

intelligence differs from player to player. eg Shane webke speaks well amd is a fairly intelligent bloke. Matt sing can barely string 2 words together

Yes you are right it depends on the player and its not relient on intelligence. Currently Scott Prince is working out contracts with the Broncos or Titans but im sure money isnt on the top of his "wants" list. He wants to move up here for his family not money. If a player wants money and his manager is able to get it im sure the player won't complain as currently they are not liable for where the money comes from.

[Super Cronk]

I still disagree.

I dont think there is one player that wouldnt know how to count...sure managers may lie or keep things from players...but i still think players know 100% what they are being paid and what for.

[SuperCliffy#01]

Those are bull**** ideas. 5 clubs went over the 2002 cap, 2 over the 2004 cap (brisbane and melbourne) ban a side for a year and you destroy the entertainment. All the crap clubs who have nothing players will be the only ones left. They are already fined however much they went over the cap. That and the points is enough.

My point entirely, if those 5 clubs had been banned then the rorting of the Cap would have stopped there, please enlighten us who are the crap clubs you mention, i stand by my 4 points.cya

[Super Cronk]

Wait....first of all its not always "rorting" there are mistakes and other issues that come into play.

Second of all...the storm were over the cap but they were over by a tiny amount compared to the dogs and warriors. Why should they recieve the extreme end of the punishment for something minor.

[Dakink]

Not a very good idea when you are trying to grow the game - booting teams out and not letting them or the fans see any games. What have the fans done?

As for the players - of course they know - Price has been offered paid work after retirement which he accepeted KNOWING that that is illegal if not decalred under the salary cap. Players know what they are getting. More responsibility should land on the shoulders of the player managers.

[Dakink]

Canberra as to be expected have started kicking and screaming about this one!

THE NRL will investigate whether the New Zealand Warriors were guilty of breaking anti-tampering laws when poaching Canberra legend Ruben Wiki from the Raiders.

The new allegations will come as a further blow to the Warriors, who are reeling in the face of the salary cap breaches which the besieged Auckland club will attempt to explain in Sydney tomorrow.

The Sun-Herald understands Wiki and his management had an agreement with the Warriors before the anti-tampering deadline of June 30, 2004. Warriors insiders say the club started negotiating with Wiki, whose offer from NZ was so lucrative the Raiders didn't even bother trying to match it, in March of that year. The official announcement was made on July 9.

Asked if anti-tampering formed part of the NRL's inquiry into the Warriors, chief executive David Gallop said yesterday: "It's quite possible that it could become part of it. But as we've found in the past, it relies heavily on the players' existing club at the time [the Raiders] putting forward a complaint."

Warriors officials are set to meet Gallop tomorrow. They already face the loss of competition points and a huge fine for breaking the cap by at least $500,000. That amount could double if the club is found to have acted before the anti-tampering deadline.

Canberra general manager Don Furner said his club suspected Wiki was leaving well before his departure was announced and that the Raiders could not have matched the offer without breaking the cap or sacking players.

"We had a fair idea Ruben was going," Furner said. "We knew what we were up against. We realised we couldn't match what the Warriors were offering."

Asked whether the Raiders would make an official complaint to the NRL, Furner responded: "If the evidence is there you'd think that's all that's needed for some sort of action to be taken by the NRL, but we as a club don't have any evidence so we can't really speculate on what might happen yet."

Furner said everyone at the club was gutted when Wiki left.

"It was disappointing because he was one of our best ever," Furner said. "Nobody wanted to see him go. He should have finished his career here. And to be honest, he'd still be here if all things were on a level playing field.

"We didn't know what the deal was but we had a fair idea. Whether they [the Warriors] did it above or below board, we didn't know. We just knew we were out of the ball park. We had to let him go."


Gallop is expected to deliver the verdict on the Warriors by the end of the week. He has previously said the book would be thrown at clubs found guilty of cheating the cap and/or the anti-tampering laws.

Furner said Wiki did not have permission to negotiate with the Warriors. "Absolutely not. If they've done that, well, it's anti-tampering and all I can say is, 'wow'. Officially it was announced after the 30th of June, but I suppose that's the way these things always get announced."

Furner said the Raiders were hammered by club sponsors and supporters for failing to retain a legend of the club.

"We copped a lot of scrutiny and criticism," he said. "We started sounding like a broken record. All we could say was, 'Listen, we can't break the salary cap'. To a lot of people it seems like a mythical thing but at the end of the day it's like the tax office - the NRL comes down and does an audit. I said to Ruben, 'Good luck, you deserve it, you go with our blessing'. He never let us down while he was here. It's not his fault."

Furner said the Raiders made no formal attempt to match the Warriors' offer.

"We would have been way over the cap if we'd tried to," he said. "Or we would have needed to sack two or three players to make room for him. If it was only a matter of $30,000 or $40,000 to keep him, maybe there could have been a way. But it was beyond that."

NRL TO INVESTIGATE

 A full-time development role for Wiki in retirement, which should be accountable under the salary cap

 Free flights for Wiki's agent, Jim Banaghan

 Free mobile phone contracts for selected players

 A paid trip to Disneyland for a player and his family

www.smh.com.au

[Steve Dangerous]

lol at the disneyland trip.

this will pretty much kill the warriors. they've had financial trouble before, i don't know if they'll be able to bounce back as easily as the bulldogs.

[Super Cronk]

In breaking news announced on 2GB the warriors have been fined $400,000 and will start the season on minus 4 points.

[Titanium_BD1103]

That is true.. to define that figure a bit more.. both Channel 7 and 9 news have stated that the Warriors have been fined $430,000 and docked 4 comp points.... the Warriors have asked for a submission, which means they will most likely appeal.

[Dakink]

From Nrl.com

Warriors Breach Cap

Monday, February 27, 2006 - 6:35 PM

NRL

Following a National Rugby League Board meeting today, the NRL has informed the New Zealand Warriors that they will be issued with a breach notice detailing the loss of four competition points for the 2006 season and a fine of $430,000 for salary cap breaches.

Upon receipt of the breach notice the Warriors will have five business days in which to make formal submissions in regard to the proposed penalty.

The Warriors breach over the 2004 and 2005 seasons related to total payments of close to $1million.

Included in the breach are undisclosed payments, un-registered agreements with third parties and guaranteed payments to players after player retirement.

While there was a failure to disclose any of these issues, despite a number of inquiries, with previous managers of the club, the current administration has cooperated fully with the NRL. The NRL accepts that the current administration has not been a participant in any of the issues under investigation.

In ensuring that the team is under the cap in 2006 the Warriors will also have their effective salary cap spending capacity reduced for the 2007 season.

While this is the first time a team has been stripped of points in advance of a season, the NRL rules have allowed for this outcome since 1998.

?We can?t have a system whereby clubs can gamble on breaking the rules, knowing that they can solve the issue at the end of the year by simply writing a cheque for a fine,? NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop said today.

?Those charged with the responsibility of running a club for the owners, sponsors and fans have to know that they not only risk one season by breaking the rules, but that they can affect a club for years to come.

?The severity of a penalty will depend on not only the amount in question but the extent to which it has been concealed from the Salary Cap Auditor and the institutionalized nature of the practices which have led to the breach.

?The Warriors matter is a serious breach, it is not the biggest we have recorded but it is above anything that has simply incurred a fine in previous years.

?It has certainly been mitigated to some extent by the transparent actions of the current management.

?They are to be acknowledged for the professional manner in which they have conducted themselves, but even that cannot completely negate what has taken place.

?I am confident that they will now focus on restoring the confidence of the fans and players who support the club so passionately.

?It is up to everyone to accept that the club has paid a price and that it should now be able to move forward.?

Brought to you by NRL.COM

[brn2bwyld]

My point entirely, if those 5 clubs had been banned then the rorting of the Cap would have stopped there, please enlighten us who are the crap clubs you mention, i stand by my 4 points.cya

In an effort to buy the good players the other clubs will go over the cap. Eventually thier will be a constant chopping and changing of clubs playing or not. Clubs with smaller fan bases would have to fold because the players would want to kep playing. The good talent would go to europe or union in search of an opportunity to have some stability in there careers

[Social Loafer]

4 points is soft IMO, this pretty much ended up taking 2 club legends away from 2 different clubs.

[brn2bwyld]

Good point the dogs really missed price last year. Wiki was equally big a loss for raiders

[Super Cronk]

4 points is soft IMO, this pretty much ended up taking 2 club legends away from 2 different clubs.

Doesnt matter about the quality of player tho. Its the amount that they went over...and sposedly it wasnt as much as the bulldogs but was still a fair amount over the cap.