NRL Mexicans lose it all

Today, south of the border, the Melbourne Storm proved that they had been to the Bernie Madoff school of business over the past 5 years by fraudulently paying $1.7 million of brown paper bag payments to various unnamed players.

After the Bulldogs scandal in 2002, the Storm were always going to be judged harshly, but when NRL CEO David Gallop announced their penalties, the NRL made Judge Judy look like a fairy princess.

The penalties are:

1. Stripped of 2007 and 2009 Premierships.
2. Stripped of 2006, 2007 and 2008 Minor Premierships.
3. $500,000 fine payable to the NRL.
4. Pay back $1.1 milion won in prize money (to be distributed equally to all other NRL clubs).
5. Stripped of all 2010 competition points earned to date.
6. Unable to earn any further 2010 competition points

You could hear the jaws of the reporting journalists hit the floor and the collective gasp of all people involved in rugby league such was the severity of the penalties.

There are many questions to answer following this shocking news, not the least being:

1. Who in the club knew? Was it limited to the the executives or were the players in on it as well? What about the players agents?
2. Are the Storm destined to join the North Sydney Bears, the Hunter Mariners, the Adelaide Rams, the Western Reds and the South Queensland Crushers in rugby league obscurity?
3. What will the sponsors do? Will we see a Tiger Woods-like exodus of sponsors? 
4. What must the Melbourne Rebels (the new Super 15 rugby union team) be thinking having poached ex-Storm CEO Waldron with many people now suggesting that he was the architect in the salary cap rort.
5. Subject to the terms in their contracts, the Storm players will arguably be able to break their contracts as the Storm have breached the trust and confidence of their contractual relationship by acting fraudulently. As such, will their be a flood of Storm players on the market?
6. Will there be tax and or criminal charges following these revelations?
7. What will the players do with those large and visible premiership tattoos?

All of these questions will undoubtedly be answered, some quicker than others, but the fallout may well damage rugby league's already dart board reputation beyond repair and play straight into the hands of Rugby Union, AFL and Football seeking to strengthen their respective footholds in the competitive Australian sports market.