I feel sorry for the alleged victim and JDBs pregnant partner.
Unfortunately if he voluntarily stood himself down everyone would assume he is guilty. He basically has to go down this path of suing the NRL as much for the process of standing behind his not guilty plea as anything else.
It is a huge distraction for the Dragons and regardless of what is said publicly IMO it has basically ensured St George wont have a chance of winning the comp. It will go quiet for a while and then in April the noise will pick up again and so on, there is no escape for the club until the verdict which potentially could be years away.
I am a fan of Roy Masters he has to be one of the best journo's in the game, I think his article on it was one of the most balanced pieces:
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...-de-belin-guilty-ban-him-20190222-p50zmh.html
Cheers
Ross
I have no issue with players fighting serious criminal charges being stood down on full pay until they have their day in court.
Plenty of occupations where it is the norm, plenty where just being charged would be the end of your career even if found not guilty.
Look at Michael Diamond got charged with DUI and other things, had his firearms licence revoked due to the charges. Couldn't train or qualify for the last olympics. Won his case but his career is finished, reputation in tatters and has legal bills in the hundreds of thousands. Couldnt find a job due to the publicity and was forced to sell his olympic medals to eat.
Like I said a NRL player being stood down on full pay while fitting charges hardly compares to what can happen in other occupations or sports.
I understood what you meant about Diamond and have a pretty vast knowledge of the sport as well .Yeah the physical fitness is not as great but I think you missed the point that simply being charged resulted in his firearms licence being revoked. His firearms were seized and was was not allowed to posses use or even handle a firearm until it all went through court and he was found not guilty. That was over 2 years in which he couldnt do anything. The OAC also has a policy of non selection for anyone on criminal charges. The firearms licence revocation applies to anyone with a firearms licence facing criminal charges, that is a million or so people in the country who can be banned from participating in their sport for something as minor as driving at 70kph through a 40 zone.
I to am interested in hearing from any serving police, my understanding is they would be stood down in similar circumstances and quite possibly without pay. Just like anyone working in a industry requiring a police background check or working with children clearance.
Being stood down on full pay is a better outcome than a large percentage of the population would face in similar circumstances.
I think the problem is the NRL's lack of consistency, back peddling and constant change of position. Make a policy stick with it and I cant see a problem. Players fans and everyone else will know exactly where they stand.
well put Joel, we look at your parents first, that is what we do. We are humans after all.I understood what you meant about Diamond and have a pretty vast knowledge of the sport as well .
There was a lot more to that story and even more issues relating to that case and Michael aswell unfortunately as he was a legend of the sport , a tosser , but one of our best lol.
Was just making a point that he was at the back end of his career and wouldn’t of made that team with or without a licence as he wasn’t close to being selected.
I think people are missing the point about being stood down on full pay as well . Not all sportspeople are driven by money , I know a lot are but if they all were Valentine Holmes would still be at Cronulla or North Queensland and not running around in a training camp with the possibility of not making a team .
Last thing I’ll say is I watch football for football ,while I don’t agree with the boofhead behaviour of a few I think the people that say they aren’t watching anymore were never real fans anyway ??And let’s not forget in this case he has plead not guilty so it’s just a allegation at this stage and one that could be made against anyone of us .
I’m also pretty sure if they were 100% on a conviction he wouldn’t be on bail ?
Do we stop watching movies, read books or go to church because there have been sex predators in those areas ? Do we not trust all police because a few are on charges of sexual assault? Of course not and it’s ridiculous to tar everyone with the same brush .
I think as a human race we’re a lot smarter then to model our own and children’s behaviour on sportspeople. And if your relying on a group of blokes that kick a ball around for guidance, maybe the problem is worse then you think
The NRL act...they're wrong.
The NRL don't act...they're wrong.
Speaking of off field dramas, what are the forums thoughts on Cronulla's penalty for the salary cap breaches?
Sufficient? Too lenient?
Other clubs caught for protracted breaches like this one have copped far worse punishments but there was also the discount for self reporting.
Of interest are Kent's claims that the NRL had an ''óff the record'' media session where it was outlined that Cronulla were in breach in 2016 leading up to the GF but were compliant on the day. If there is any truth to this then wouldn't that make the 2016 title dodgy?
A couple of close mates of mine and life long Cronulla fans felt that the penalties were a bit lighter on but they should keep the 2016 title.
It is a tough one, Cronulla's maiden title was certainly a feel good story (much like the Cows in 2015) when the game needed one. There is no easy answer to this.
Could smash a trap house down like nobody though lol. Was sad how it ended for him .Hey Joel I think your right about him being a tosser and he also had form so to speak but at the end of the day being a tosser isnt yet criminal and he want convicted. Still talking about trying to make Tokyo so maybe the back end of his career but still over 2 years of it gone due to nothing other than accusations as well as the sponsors he had and a lot of opportunities.
Saints did you read the article by Slater the other day where he was saying he doesnt know what clubs are supposed to do, he learnt right from wrong what was acceptable behaviour etc from his family well before he was ever a NRL player.
I dont think standing him down has anything to do with guilt or innocence. If he had been stood down when first charged the whole thing would be a non story and the game wouldnt be brought into disrepute.
I was saying to someone the other day if you picked 600 18-30 year olds out of the general population would the incidence of misbehaviour be any different to the NRL? I doubt there would be much, I dont think the NRL has anymore of a problem than exists in the general population. Their problem is how they deal with players facing accusations given any accusations will bring the game into disrepute.
The problem is they wont be consistent because even in drawing this line in the sand it was done in the tidal zone and is ambiguous because the commission has given Greenberg the right to impose his subjective opinion on any matter he sees fit from the way I understand the rule that hasn't been written yet.Agreed. Tough situation to be in. Hopefully moving forward decisions can be consistent and at least that should help public opinion.
On a selfish note I would like to see the Sharks stripped of the title so I can go back to bagging out my mates again.Speaking of off field dramas, what are the forums thoughts on Cronulla's penalty for the salary cap breaches?
Sufficient? Too lenient?
Other clubs caught for protracted breaches like this one have copped far worse punishments but there was also the discount for self reporting.
While we’re at it lets investigate the stacked Bulldogs and Parra teams of the 80s the Broncos and Raiders teams of the 90s and the Roosters and Storm teams since lol . Talk about clutching at strawsThe problem is they wont be consistent because even in drawing this line in the sand it was done in the tidal zone and is ambiguous because the commission has given Greenberg the right to impose his subjective opinion on any matter he sees fit from the way I understand the rule that hasn't been written yet.
On a selfish note I would like to see the Sharks stripped of the title so I can go back to bagging out my mates again.
Cheers
Ross
Funniest part is Smith is still burning over the 2016 Grand Final lol.A big problem that has allowed breaches and kind of makes a salary cap redundant is back ending contracts and third party deals. They need to scrap both of these and stick to just the salary cap and what it's purpose was intended for.
To a point i understand where Gallen is coming from but in some of those cases players were aware of a breach especially if your signing two different contracts, receiving extra assests ect. Yeah in some cases that is not the case and players aren't aware and do heavily rely on the clubs management to have it correct but the reality is without that extra cash over the salary cap that team of players wouldn't have existed, the extra talent, skill and depth wouldn't be there, this is what ultimately gives them the advantage over other teams and why premierships were stripped.
As for whether Sharks deserve to have their premiership stripped away? I agree with what Brendan said 'That is a huge call, I would say no but find it hard to believe they were over the cap either side of the premiership year but not in the premiership year' with that in mind if they were over the cap, how much were they over by, there is just too many questions that I would need answered before handing out a punishment. Except i don't agree the breach being worse, i would say just as bad as for example Storm still had a lot of planning with their by having a second set of books shows planning and a deliberate breaking of the salary cap.
A big problem that has allowed breaches and kind of makes a salary cap redundant is back ending contracts and third party deals. They need to scrap both of these and stick to just the salary cap and what it's purpose was intended for.
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