Melbourne Storm boss defends decision to celebrate NRL premierships stripped club for $1.7m salary cap: ‘We were the winners of the grand final’
Despite being roundly criticized, the Melbourne Storm hierarchy remain firm in their belief that celebrating the big final wins they were stripped of for the salary cap was justified.
The club held a ceremony to commemorate their 25th anniversary as an NRL side on Friday night ahead of the clash against Parramatta at Marvel Stadium.
Many former club greats showed up to celebrate the momentous event.
The celebration was heralded on social media, where the Storm invited fans to watch a montage of the club’s finest moment in the last 25 years, as well as the presentation of Melbourne’s six premiership trophies.
Each trophy has been made and placed on a stand for all to admire – something that has been slammed across the footballing world.
Club captain Cameron Smith proudly holds the 2007 Grand Final trophy which his team Melbourne Storm won against Manly, who was later removed from the club for breaching the salary cap
Storm CEO Justin Rodski holds firm that both stripped wins should be celebrated by fans
The 25th anniversary celebrations this weekend included Parra and Manly wins of 2007 and 2009 despite the NRL stripping those gongs from them
But, two of those trophies were officially stripped from the club for violating the salary cap during the time of captain Cameron Smith.
Storm CEO Justin Rodski has come under heavy criticism for allowing these two canceled gongs (and the club produced replicas on Friday) to be depicted, but he has not been apologized.
“The club recognizes the teams from these two years,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“They were the Grand Final winners on those days. It was fitting to recognize these teams and players who fought so hard to achieve a big final victory.
“What happened in retrospect has nothing to do with the players.
“We think it’s appropriate to celebrate the seasons they’ve had. It’s part of our history that on those days in 2007 and 2009, our teams won the grand final.
Storm paid $20,000 for each of the six replica trophies.
Despite Rodksi’s reasoning, fans on social media trumpeted their universal disapproval.
One said: ‘Will both books be on display?’, while another remarked that ‘two of these prime ministers are not yours’. They have been stripped. You don’t have them.
A supporter, meanwhile, wondered if the Storm will hold two ceremonies.
‘Are you going to have two celebrations? A celebration for every set of payroll books you’ve kept for two of your premierships*? he sarcastically tweeted.
Adding insult to injury, the Storm’s celebration came just before they faced the Eels, the team they beat in the 2009 Grand Final.
The detail was not lost on NRL fans, who scoffed at the announcement of the ceremony.
The club’s trio of superstars during those salary cap years was Cam Smith (carried by Cooper Cronk on the left and Billy Slater on the right
Billy Slater says goodbye to the 2007 Prime Minister’s Trophy
“Are you finally going to present the 2009 to us? You are too nice,’ a Parramatta fan tweeted.
Another added: ‘Wow. A presentation for an illegally earned trophy hosting the team you actually cheated on. That’s the peak of Melbourne Storm right there. What club !
The great Cam Smith, who played a record 430 games in the NRL, became the Melbourne club’s captain from 2008, a year after the team were stripped of their first GF salary cap victory.
Many of Smith’s stunning club achievements between the years 2006 and 2010 were later put under an asterisk after the Melbourne Storm were stripped of all honors achieved in those years due to the discovery of inside the club .
Melbourne have won the grand final in 1999, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017 and 2020 since joining the NRL, and all the trophies (four of them legitimate, two replicas) were proudly on display.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that the Storm steamrolled Parra last Friday night 46-16.