Penalties for Salary Cap breaches

[Moi]

Just watching the story unfold of the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL getting penalised 6 points at the beginning of this season, and wondering if we were ever in that position would we prefer to lose points or get shafted  like Carlton did with draft penalties.  I reckon i'd prefer to lose the points and keep the players.

Here's an article on it.

Warriors under scrutiny
By Steve Mascord
22feb06
NEW Zealand Warriors will be docked up to six competition points and hit with a huge fine after rugby league's latest salary cap scandal was uncovered yesterday.

 Fallout: Warriors players facing pay cuts
 Captain: Price wants more information
 Betting: Wooden spoon market stirred

After owning up to player-payment "discrepancies", the Warriors will be the first team in 98 years of premiership league history to start the season on less than zero.

The Auckland-based team has been caught in the biggest player-payment scandal since the Bulldogs were stripped of the minor premiership in 2002.

The list of rorts included:


OFFERING stars highly-paid employment after they retire;

FUNNELING payments to players through club owner Cullen Investments;

PAYING for player agents to fly to and from New Zealand whenever they wanted to;

HELPING players secure commercial arrangements and then only partially declaring them to the NRL.
Warriors chairman Maurice Kidd last night indicated he would fight any move to strip the club of points before the season started.

"It's obviously within their powers to do that but we wouldn't be happy with that," Kidd said.

Asked if he thought the points should instead be deducted from the Warriors' 2005 total - in the game's record books - Kidd said: "That's right. We haven't got into those issues yet."

But NRL chief executive David Gallop countered: "While it's too early to speculate on a penalty, all clubs and fans have known competition points are in jeopardy when breaches strike at the heart of the competition's fairness."

Former Warriors chief executive Mick Watson is high on the list of interviewees the club is chasing in its investigation. The NRL may also seek to speak to him.

When informed of the drama yesterday, Bulldogs chief executive Malcolm Noad said: "If it's a systematic approach to circumvent the salary cap, our fans would expect the NRL to take very stern action."

NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert first got wind of the anomalies at the end of last season, when the previous administration led by Watson was departing.

Schubert warned Watson he would be conducting a full audit in early 2006.

The new Warriors hierarchy, led by Kidd, then decided to go on the front foot. They told the NRL a week ago they had found irregularities themselves.

"The chief executive (Wayne Scurrah) called me last Monday and said 'I think we've got a problem'," Kidd said. "He was preparing for the NRL auditor ... they came across things that looked a bit, uh, unusual."

It is understood the club is at risk of a $100,000 fine, although admitting their mistakes will be the one mitigating factor. http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18227226%255E23209,00.html

[mightytiges]

The Canterbury Bulldogs were on top of the ladder and premiership favourites a few years ago but then had all their points taken away from them midway through the season and so missed the finals. They did come back the following year IIRC and won the flag.

As far as the Tiges go right now if that happened you would be stupid not to say take the points off us with the super draft this year. Finish with 10 actual wins as up and coming half-decent side then get "rewarded" with the best kid (Gibbs, Hansen, etc...) in the country because you officially finished last.

Not going to happen though as we have one of the lowest if not the lowest TTP in the AFL. Not far off the minimum with plenty of room to spare as our young guys develop .