NRL, Storm look to move on

The NRL and deposed premiers Melbourne finally appear headed for calmer waters after
Storm owners News Limited removed rogue board members and exposed the magnitude and
method behind one of the game's biggest scandals.
News Limited chairman John Hartigan took the first steps to putting the beleaguered
club back on track when he named the five "rats in our ranks" who helped orchestrate
a $3.17 million breach of the salary cap over the last five years and sacked the
four independent directors suing the NRL.
As a result their legal action against the NRL over stripping the Storm of their
2007 and 2009 premierships may be dropped, while a new chief executive to be
installed next week will set about stripping $1.3 million in forecast player
payments for next season.
"News is totally committed to rebuilding the Melbourne Storm," Hartigan told a
packed news conference on Thursday.
"The most immediate priority is to work out the playing roster for next season that
will allow the Storm to field a competitive team that is under the salary cap."
Central to that appears to be the retention of the `Fab Four' - Greg Inglis, Billy
Slater, Cooper Cronk and skipper Cameron Smith - whose bulging payments contributed
to the predicament in which the club finds itself in.
Those players, along with nine other current and former teammates - were named as
having received payments outside the salary cap while they also did not cooperate
with independent auditor Deloitte.
But Hartigan insisted there was no evidence to suggest they knew of any wrongdoing.
Whether the Australian Tax Office sees it the same way is another matter.
Rather Hartigan laid the blame at the feet of the `Backroom Five' - former chief
executive Brian Waldron, his successor Matt Hanson, Cameron Vale, Paul Gregory and
former scout and current Sydney Roosters official Peter O'Sullivan.
Their fate now seemingly rests with Victorian Police, whom Hartigan said would be
forwarded a report detailing how those officials used an elaborate system involving
third parties such as The Unity Foundation and The McManus Group, who were cleared
of any wrongdoing, to funnel funds to players.
Players and their families also benefited with flights, cars and shopping vouchers.
"We had some rats in our ranks," Hartigan said.
"There is evidence that in certain cases some of these people worked together to
cover their tracks, so that others at the club and certainly NRL salary cap auditors
couldn't trace payments.
"The methods they used were deliberately designed to deceive others, cheat the
system and avoid detection."
Asked why it took so long for their activities to be detected, Hartigan said:
"Whenever there's complicit behaviour by more than one person, it is very hard to
detect if it's fraud or if it's some irregularity within the books of the company.
"Most of these involved payments of small amounts over a long period so that the
amounts themselves wouldn't arouse suspicion."
While those five officials are no longer involved with the club - and only
O'Sullivan is still in rugby league - the four independent directors, headed by
chairman Rob Moodie, were also shown the door.
Only one, Petra Fawcett, cooperated with the independent audit, while Moodie -
currently overseas on business, Peter Maher and Gerry Ryan declined as they argued
against the independence of a audit commissioned by News Limited.
That and their reluctance to attend an arbitration hearing with the NRL led to their
sacking, with Gallop hopeful the court action would be dropped.
"The club's owner does not wish for it to continue and, in any event, it has always
been our belief that the court action is without any merit," Gallop said.
Maher, speaking on behalf of the group, indicated that was now an option.
"We persevered with the court case for one obvious reason - the support base wants
that," Maher said.
"They want that. They don't feel that we've got a future until we work out where we
have been.
"Even today we've been inundated with very upset supporters who are so disappointed
this court action may not continue.
"Whether it does or whether it does not I'm not in a position to answer that at this
stage."
News Limited chief financial officer Stephen Rue was named to join fellow News
appointees Frank Stanton and Craig Watt on the board, with more appointments to be
made in the near future.
Hartigan said the saga had reaffirm News Limited's commitment to the Storm, with
plans to sell the club no on the backburner.