Has the Parramatta Saga Really Created Change?

We're half way through the 2016 season of the NRL and justice has finally been served to the officials and players of the Parramatta Eels.

On the 9th July the club was faced with a one million dollar fine, the loss of five of its board members and the official stripping of their twelve competition points, as well as the loss of their Auckland 9's title. Some people may wonder why such harsh penalties were subjected on a team that were well on their way to making it into the top four. But actions have consequences, and for the Parramatta Eels, these were their consequences.

These penalties were handed down to the club after it was discovered in May that there had been a breach in the clubs salary cap payments. In more simple terms, the club had taken on players that did not fit within their salary cap; big name players who are worth more than young gun rookies.

At the end of the 2015 season, star halfback Kieran Foran was signed to the Eels on a multi-million dollar contract, with belief that he would be the clubs saving grace on the field. This was not the case however, with Foran retiring after round 18, having played only 9 games in the 2016 season.

With multi-million dollar signings like this, it's no wonder the club went over their budget. But should this have occurred in the first place? The Parramatta Eels were not the first club to face the harsh penalties of the NRL.

The Melbourne Storm were the last club to be charged for breaching the salary cap limits, which resulted in much harsher penalties than the Eels. In the 2010 season the Storm were stripped of all their competition points, meaning the rest of the season they played for NOTHING! As well as having their 2007 and 2009 premierships taken off them, and their 2006, 2007 and 2009 minor premierships removed. Off the field, the club was fined $500,000, as well as their prize money being stripped from them.

Prior to what The Age has labelled, in 2010, as "the biggest scandal in Australian sports history," the Canterbury Bulldogs were clouded in their own salary saga in 2002. For this, the club was stripped of their 37 playing points and fined only $500,000. So why are there inconsistencies in the punishments and how do clubs continually let this happen?

The problem lies within the recruiting of players mid way through the season. NRL clubs have the ability to create new deals with players that are valid for the remainder of the season, essentially chopping and changing their starting line-up to suit their needs. In doing this, the salary cap for players is off set, thus creating a greater issue.

While some people might think that a salary cap problem is only the problem of club officials, who's mismanagement of the money leads to major issues, and this may be the case, but it has a far greater impact on players and their families.

In two of these cases, players have been off-loaded to other clubs, forced to move their families mid-way through the season to accomodate the wishes of the club. For the Eels, young run hooker Nathan Peats was chosen as the 'fall-guy' and was asked to move on, having to up turn his life in Sydney's western suburbs to move to the Gold Coast.

So what can be done to prevent these salary saga's?

For starters, clubs shouldn't be allowed to sign new players and make their contract valid for the season that they are in. This not only affects the clubs management of money but also the players themselves, who sometimes have to move interstate to accomodate their new club. To me, this is the only thing that can be done to prevent more problems. You only need to look at the AFL, where player trading can only be done in the off season, to see that this is the best way forward.

But hey, what would I know about salary caps and player payments. Not a lot. But what I do know, is that the Parramatta Eels most likely won't make the top eight, with their castle beginning to crumble.