‘We won fair and square’: Panthers fume about Tallis’ cap claim

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Back-to-back premiers Penrith have slammed Broncos great Gorden Tallis after he claimed the Panthers and other recent NRL premiers were rorting the salary cap.

Tallis made the comments on Fox Sports’ NRL 360 on Monday night while defending the Melbourne Storm for celebrating the 2007 and 2009 premierships that were stripped by the NRL for calculated salary-cap cheating. Melbourne paraded replica premiership trophies from those years as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations last weekend.

“How many teams have won the grand final in the last five years and been under [the cap]?” Tallis asked. “Unless you’re a Roosters or a Melbourne fan, then you are shitty, but they [the Storm] won those [2007 and 2009] trophies.

“Can you win the NRL without cheating the salary cap? I think the fans when they see Penrith run out and you look at the talent they’ve got and you are supporting the Wests Tigers … you go, ‘I don’t think we can beat them’. If the salary cap is fair, the talent should be fair, shouldn’t it?”

Penrith have played in the past three grand finals, winning two. Players and staff were incensed by Tallis’ accusation. Panthers Group chief executive Brian Fletcher described the comments as “thoughtless, uninformed and highly disappointing, at best”.

Nothing to hide: Penrith celebrate back-to-back grand final wins last yearCredit: Getty

“The truth is they are actually defamatory,” he continued. “To imply that this club is cheating the cap is an insult to the people at this club who work in cap management, roster management, recruitment and coaching. It’s an insult to our players as well who won the comps fair and square, and they don’t deserve to have a shadow cast over their name.”

At no point has there ever been a question in the media about the Panthers and their salary cap.

“The NRL had no issue with us or our cap, so I don’t know why these comments are being made,” Fletcher said. “The fact is we won a comp paying $600,000 for Waqa Blake and Reg [Reagan Campbell-Gillard] at another club [Parramatta]. We do the development of players to get the results we do. In fact, we develop players for other clubs, too.

“We could field two teams in the comp with the best players we develop and, unfortunately, we have had to make tough decisions and allow players to leave to be under the cap. You can look through the entire NRL and see our former players at plenty of teams. We comply by the cap.”

Tallis was asked on the program to provide any proof he had of salary cap cheating by any club. None was forthcoming.

The Panthers have had issues with other members of the Fox Sports team, but have never had any problems with Tallis, so his comments took them by surprise.

The hunt goes on

Ben Hunt’s inner circle knows if he is going to challenge the Dragons again to seek an early release he will need to take a tough stance. One way of making his point could be handing back the captaincy.

I broke the story in June that Hunt wanted an immediate release from the club, but he was too exhausted from weeks of intense media scrutiny to challenge incoming Dragons coach Shane Flanagan when they discussed his future at a recent meeting.

Dragons captain Ben Hunt.Credit: Getty

Hunt’s request for an immediate release overshadowed the State of Origin series and it took a significant personal toll on him.

There are no big names left on the market to assist Hunt and the Dragons for next year, so it may well be a slow rebuild – something Hunt doesn’t have the time or patience for.

His inner circle says if he is going to push one more time to leave the Dragons, the time is fast approaching for him to make the move. The Dragons are happy to allow other players to leave early, including the player many identified as their half of the future, Jayden Sullivan, but the rules are different for Hunt. He has to act soon to allow other clubs to make room in their salary cap to get him into their squad.

The Titans still appear to be the likely home for Hunt, and they clearly need his game management.
The Dragons have made a series of promises about recruitment to Hunt, but so far they have not landed a significant signature. However, they have cleared out a number of players to get themselves in a position to strike.

Holbrook in, Cronk out?

On Monday, when I first raised the idea of a coaching restructure at the Roosters, I revealed head coach Trent Robinson had met with then-out-of-work mentor Justin Holbrook. By the end of the week, he was a Rooster, and a key element in the restructure of the club’s coaching staff.

Holbrook comes in as current assistant Jake Friend weighs up his options. The level of respect that Friend had as a player has translated into his role as a coach. It’s why key figures at the Roosters want him to continue as an assistant. However, he also has an important role to play as a father of two and the owner of a successful plumbing business.

In terms of popularity, Cooper Cronk is not everyone’s favourite. It would cost the Roosters a low six-figure sum if they decided to pay out the remainder of Cronk’s deal, which expires at the end of next year.

So far Cronk’s immense playing skill and ability to communicate have not paid dividends with Roosters half Sam Walker, whose development has stalled, although he has battled injury for much of the season. The club’s experiment with Joey Manu in the halves hasn’t worked either.

Cronk’s role at the Roosters has been challenging. On at least two occasions, before last week, there have been rumblings that he is on the outer with some key Bondi figures. Take it as fact, he is.
Cronk would know exactly where he stands and who is backing him. The key figure in his corner is the ever-loyal Robinson.

Members of Walker’s family were unhappy with the way Cronk was coaching the young half earlier in the year. The view is that Cronk is the wrong person to mentor Walker: Cronk likes a structured style, while the Walker clan (including dad Ben and uncles Shane and Chris) have an unstructured ethos. The Roosters hope their totally different styles mean Walker develops some of the traits that made Cronk a master game manager.

Lurking in the background of all this are the feelings of ill will towards Cronk because he also works for his old team, the Melbourne Storm. It doesn’t sit well with some at the Roosters that he is helping their enemy.

Storm still rages

Phil Gould’s comments about Latrell Mitchell’s failure to deliver on the big stage were not even close to his most explosive views in the most recent episode of 100% Footy.

Gould says he has talked to key figures with knowledge of the Storm’s salary cap breaches in the late 2000s, and on the program he claimed there had been a cover-up.

“I would love someone to write the real story of what actually happened at that time,” he said. “I really would because I’m very privy to a lot of the information and I guess the secrets will die with me, as it will die with a lot of people. But a lot of people were thrown under the bus at that time – a lot of people – by people at the very top of a few organisations, they were thrown under a bus, including the players.”

Gould said his sympathies are with the playing group. “I feel very sorry for the players at that time and I actually campaigned and argued for them … what happened in the game at that time was an absolute disgrace and it was a massive cover-up, [but] I suppose the truth will never be told.”

Top of the props

Those questioning whether Payne Haas is worth $1 million a season – or more – like to compare him to Glenn Lazarus to, in some way, try and detract from his market value.

This column has previously stated that Lazarus should be in the conversation as the greatest prop ever. His record is incredible, winning titles with three clubs (the only player to do so): Raiders 1989-90, Broncos 1992-93 and Storm 1999.

Broncos star Payne Haas.Credit: Getty

But it is worth noting that Lazarus made his first-grade debut as a 21-year-old. Haas is 23 and has been playing first grade and Origin since he was 19. Many good judges believe he could be the greatest prop of all time.

One that got away

Brooklyn Heath may one day be a significant part of the famous Roosters-Rabbitohs rivalry. The rising rugby and league star has just signed a three-year deal with the Roosters. Why is that significant? His uncle is Souths hero John Sutton, the most capped Rabbit (336 matches). Brooklyn is an outside back and one to watch.

West is best

The Panthers are the benchmark in the NRL. So, it’s little wonder rival codes want to learn from them. Wallabies coach Eddie Jones toured their facilities recently, and Super Rugby’s Chiefs sent attack coach Roger Randle to spend time with coach Ivan Cleary and his team. It’s a credit to everything the club stands for that teams are trying to be like them.

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