A dog act by the Melbourne Storm

[The Future is League]

https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-to-investigate-stoppage-for-cramp-in-storm-finals-win-over-eels/news-story/3885e4fb766f7dd6329e5002bd581bed

[Copa]

It was very blatant..

[DavidM]

Shocking but it’s Melbourne , they’re the biggest and best cheats and rule manipulators in the game . On the wider issue I’ve mentioned this many a time , it’s asking for trouble having the stopping of the game in the hands of a teams trainer . It really is ridiculous what we’re stopping the game for in terms of injuries and the whole protocol needs looking at . We were standing around at a kick off waiting for a bloke to have strapping put round his boot,  and on the line waiting for a defender to have Vaseline put on a nick on his face . V’landys is all for speeding the game , and the bunker change will be great , well here’s another one he can look at 

[Dunbar]

This is so difficult for the authorities.  We don't want to see stoppages for minor injuries and cramp but then there incidents like Nene Mcdonald's broken leg last year when play carried on when he should have been given medical attention. Then the ref's get slaughtered for not providing a duty of care.

Therefore there has to be a policy that errs on the side of caution it will then be abused by teams and players who look to manipulate the laws to their advantage. 

Unfortunately, this is modern day Rugby League. Coaches and players cheat in order to find advantage. It is blatant and regular. The only thing that surprises me is that people still claim that football is full of cheats who dive and con the ref when our sport is just as bad if not worse.

[DavidM]

11 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

football is full of cheats who dive and con the ref when our sport is just as bad if not worse.

Football is full of cheating , I pity their officials . However bad our sport is it’s not worse . Maybe when guys collapse to the floor when someone brushes a hand on their face in one of those handbags at dawn push n shove episodes we get now 

[Hela Wigmen]

It’s a non-story. Goes on all over the world in one form or another. 

[Graham]

 

 This is something that has crept into the game and has been in in games involving players from a number of teams.

 I don't like it, especially stopping the game for cramp and what we might call something minor. 

Refs have been too tolerant of it. 

Then of course there were the refs that let the game go on when it turned out the player had a broken ankle. Those two refs were then dropped. Maybe explains why some are keen to have players checked out for virtually anything.

Storm will be fined just asTitans were fined ($5000 earlier in the season) for a breach involving a trainer stopping play during the match against Wests Tigers.

Fine teams more often. Just a reminder though it isn't just something Storm have invented.

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, Dunbar said:

This is so difficult for the authorities.  We don't want to see stoppages for minor injuries and cramp but then there incidents like Nene Mcdonald's broken leg last year when play carried on when he should have been given medical attention. Then the ref's get slaughtered for not providing a duty of care.

Therefore there has to be a policy that errs on the side of caution it will then be abused by teams and players who look to manipulate the laws to their advantage. 

Unfortunately, this is modern day Rugby League. Coaches and players cheat in order to find advantage. It is blatant and regular. The only thing that surprises me is that people still claim that football is full of cheats who dive and con the ref when our sport is just as bad if not worse.

I think the issue is that this has all been thought through though and there is a decent process in place. The player was 60m behind play, and the trainer was more bothered about conceding a try by being a man down than he was about player welfare. 

Melbourne really are an unpleasant club with an unpleasant culture.

Agree with your point, there are cheats in sport, I think they should be hit hard if caught. 

[Lowdesert]

How long were Saints going down for minimal contact?  Laughed off over here, but similar creates a storm in Aus. 

[Graham]

43 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think the issue is that this has all been thought through though and there is a decent process in place. The player was 60m behind play, and the trainer was more bothered about conceding a try by being a man down than he was about player welfare. 

Melbourne really are an unpleasant club with an unpleasant culture.

Agree with your point, there are cheats in sport, I think they should be hit hard if caught. 

The club is superbly coached, has had and continues to have world class players, can make ordinary players into very useful ones and is based in Victoria in a great stadium attracting a very good membership that the majority of other clubs would like to have. I’m not defending bad play or tactics just wanting a more balanced view of a top club, Dave.

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Lowdesert said:

How long were Saints going down for minimal contact?  Laughed off over here, but similar creates a storm in Aus. 

I'm not sure I follow. Going down at the drop of a hat is another tactic from Oz that came here noticeably at the 2013 WC as every game had a live VR. 

I don't think this is what we are talking about here. 

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

The club is superbly coached, has had and continues to have world class players, can make ordinary players into very useful ones and is based in Victoria in a great stadium attracting a very good membership that the majority of other clubs would like to have. I’m not defending bad play or tactics just wanting a more balanced view of a top club, Dave.

Indeed. None of that stops them being unpleasant though. 

[Clogiron]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

The club is superbly coached, has had and continues to have world class players, can make ordinary players into very useful ones and is based in Victoria in a great stadium attracting a very good membership that the majority of other clubs would like to have. I’m not defending bad play or tactics just wanting a more balanced view of a top club, Dave.

Since reading the book "Storm Clouds" about their salary cap exploits with Murdock's News Co what little respect I had for their sporting achievements disappeared completely. They are a thoroughly nasty piece of work that got off lightly.

[FearTheVee]

When Warrington were blatantly manipulating HIAs at Wembley last year people said they were smart.  Interesting how this is viewed.

[Rupert Prince]

2 hours ago, Lowdesert said:

How long were Saints going down for minimal contact?  Laughed off over here, but similar creates a storm in Aus. 

I think thats a fair point.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

The idea that this is something new is plain silly. I remember when we (Fulham) played Carlisle at Brunton Park in 1985 and were a point down right at the end of the game, at which a Fulham player ran between two Carlisle defenders, did a dying swan act and we won by a point. If his grin had been any broader in the bar afterwards the top of his head would have fallen off! (Oh, and for the curious the guilty party was Harold Henney, older members of this forum might remember him).

[Dave T]

5 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

When Warrington were blatantly manipulating HIAs at Wembley last year people said they were smart.  Interesting how this is viewed.

That's an interesting claim, that I'm sure you can back up. 

Or, Saints lost. 

[Dave T]

10 minutes ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

The idea that this is something new is plain silly. I remember when we (Fulham) played Carlisle at Brunton Park in 1985 and were a point down right at the end of the game, at which a Fulham player ran between two Carlisle defenders, did a dying swan act and we won by a point. If his grin had been any broader in the bar afterwards the top of his head would have fallen off! (Oh, and for the curious the guilty party was Harold Henney, older members of this forum might remember him).

Have you seen the incident, because that isn't what we are talking about at all?

[Graham]

The world is not in monochrome is it? Storm actually paid heavily for their indiscretions playing for no points and paying a huge fine. Other teams have had their discretions too. 
From what I understand that books charts the rise, fall and rise again of the club. The ‘got off lightly’ comment is interesting. How much more severe could their punishment have been, short of closing them down?

Nobody in their right mind would defend the actions of those running the club at that time. The club paid a heavy price, with some never able to see beyond that. I take it that what is variously described above as ‘cheats, manipulators, unpleasant, thoroughly nasty piece of work etc’,  wouldn’t be displeased if the club was closed down.

For me I have friends in Melbourne who support the club and are the nicest of people. I have met and spent the afternoon with the players when they came over here for a World Club Challenge. They were a thoroughly nice group of lads. Blokes like Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater were easy to talk to and reflected well on themselves, the game and their country. 
I see the club differently to the majority on here and accept that. I also like the fact that they have developed a strong fan base in AFL country.

I still don’t like the action that this thread  highlights. Too many times minor injuries, cramp or even feigned injuries need stamping out, whichever club the miscreants belong to.

By the way on the subjects of books, I’ve read and have a copy of Craig Bellamy’s book Home Truths.

It isn’t a kiss and tell book. It does focus on his approach to the game and as such is worth the read as he is key to much of the success Storm have had on the field. If anyone wants to read it, get in touch.
 

[gingerjon]

5 hours ago, DavidM said:

Football is full of cheating , I pity their officials . However bad our sport is it’s not worse . Maybe when guys collapse to the floor when someone brushes a hand on their face in one of those handbags at dawn push n shove episodes we get now 

Rugby is a way off soccer but it's very far from pure.

Related to that, football now doesn't require the ball to be kicked out or play to be stopped for injuries unless the referee demands it and even then that will usually only be done before a natural break in play if it's an obvious head injury.

[Lowdesert]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

I'm not sure I follow. Going down at the drop of a hat is another tactic from Oz that came here noticeably at the 2013 WC as every game had a live VR. 

I don't think this is what we are talking about here. 

We are talking feigning injury.  It is rife in Aus and has been in our game too for many, many years, although not so commonplace.

Foolish to think it will ever be eradicated but for some of these, Refs should be seeing through the majority.

[Moove]

I suppose there's not a great deal you can do on the field in response to a trainer/physio pulling a stunt like this one. The referee is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Fine the physio and the club, increase the fines for subsequent offences. Maybe they should accumulate penalty points so serial offenders eventually get banned from the sport. Similar for serial offending clubs too with competition points eventually being docked.

As for feigning/exaggerating injury, every team does that and you'd be one-eyed in the extreme to think your club doesn't. This incident wasn't really feigning injury though, more a physio who decided to involve himself in the outcome of a game by getting the game stopped inappropriately. That's probably more concerning than players doing it tbh as their job is solely about player welfare.

[Futtocks]

8 hours ago, DavidM said:

Football is full of cheating , I pity their officials . However bad our sport is it’s not worse . Maybe when guys collapse to the floor when someone brushes a hand on their face in one of those handbags at dawn push n shove episodes we get now 

As Jarome Luai did the other week for Penrith, when Benji Marshall lightly slapped his cheek in an attempted tackle. Got a penalty from it, too, despite not being as mortally wounded as it initially appeared when the whistle went.

[DavidM]

18 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

As Jarome Luai did the other week for Penrith, when Benji Marshall lightly slapped his cheek in an attempted tackle. Got a penalty from it, too, despite not being as mortally wounded as it initially appeared when the whistle went.

Yes , indeed you’re right . I remember calling that out . I’ll rephrase to guys doing that as commonplace as in footy .  

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, Lowdesert said:

We are talking feigning injury.  It is rife in Aus and has been in our game too for many, many years, although not so commonplace.

Foolish to think it will ever be eradicated but for some of these, Refs should be seeing through the majority.

I don't disagree, but I dont think this lad feigned an injury, his trainer did the cheating, rather than player welfare he was bothered about conceding a try.