Penrith Panthers CEO Bryan Fletcher has fired back at ‘defamatory’ suggestions from Gorden Tallis that the back-to-back premiers have been cheating the salary cap. Tallis made the explosive comments on NRL 360 last week in relation to the controversy surrounding the Melbourne Storm’s decision to celebrate their stripped trophies from the 2007 and 2009 seasons.
The Storm paraded replica trophies in front of their home fans during a celebration of their 25 years in the NRL, a move that was widely slammed due to the fact those premierships were later stripped due to systemic salary cap cheating. But Tallis made extraordinary suggestions that all teams who win the premiership cheat the salary cap in some way.
How many teams have won the grand final in the last five years and been under (the cap)?” Tallis asked. “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?”
Tallis admitted he didn’t have any proof but went on to defend the Storm. “Listen, Melbourne Storm won, unless you’re a Storm fan I reckon you’re shitty, but they won those trophies. In my mind, as a footy fan, they’ve got a right to put them there,” he said.
The Panthers are two-time defending champions having won back-to-back premierships in 2021 and 2022. Needless to say, Tallis’ comments haven’t gone down well at the foot of the mountains.
“The truth is they are actually defamatory,” Fletcher told the The Sydney Morning Herald. “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.”
