Melbourne Storm footy star Ben Cross opens up about one of the darkest chapters in Australia’s sporting history and how he really feels about being called a cheat

The Melbourne Storm’s salary cap violations in 2010 shook the NRL and Australian sport to its core. But what happened to the players left behind after they left the club?

In 2010, Melbourne Storm were found guilty of breaching the NRL’s salary cap for several years, during which payments were concealed and the cap was significantly exceeded.

As a result, the team faced severe punishments, including the loss of the 2007 and 2009 championship titles and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor championships.

They were also fined $1.7 million and ordered to return $1.1 million in prize money.

Additionally, the team was not allowed to score any more championship points for the remainder of the 2010 season, thus nullifying their position in the league for that year.

This scandal had a major impact on the club’s reputation and required a complete restructuring of its financial activities to comply with competition rules.

While the club acted unitedly in the face of the scandal and widespread allegations of cheating, players like Ben Cross were left to cope on their own.

Cross was with the club when the team lost the 2006 finals to the Brisbane Broncos and denied them their 2007 championship win over the Manly Sea Eagles, but has since moved to Newcastle to play there.

The manner in which he heard the news was almost as devastating as the scandal itself.

“I had just dropped my wife off at the airport and was back in Newcastle when I got a call from a journalist in Newcastle telling me what had happened,” Cross told the Andy Raymond Unfiltered Podcast.

‘There were a few players who had left the club: Garret Crossman was in England, Matty King was in England and I was at Newcastle.

But the majority of that team that had played was still in [Melbourne]. So I was there and I did all that stuff by myself. I went through it myself in Newcastle.’

As Storm coach Craig Bellamy faced the media in Melbourne with his players behind him, Cross was confronted with questions and cameras without any support.

He revealed that confrontational questions were even asked by Knights staff.

“So when I go to training in Newcastle, all of a sudden I see a lot of reporters and photographers and things like that,” he said.

‘I get questions within my organization. Hang on, I know a thing or two about what happens at football clubs, so don’t throw stones.

‘So you had to keep turning down all those questions and interviews and just give the information you knew at that moment.’

Cross said he was faced with being called an imposter, without any communication or support from the Storm.

‘I didn’t get a briefing from Melbourne Storm at all. They were in bunkers, they had to do their own thing.

‘It wasn’t until I had a conversation with Craig a few years later, or not so long after, that he probably really realised the impact it had on us, the players who were playing outside of Melbourne at the time.

‘I remember playing a game in Cronulla that year and getting yelled at and stuff like that.

I thought, what can I do? [Why] “What are you doing to me?”

Despite all the adversity, Cross has learned to let go of the past. But he also said the players had to accept they hadn’t won those premierships fair and square.

“We knew how hard we were working. It was just bloody hard work,” he said.

‘The things that happened outside of our control, we had no control over.

‘Like most players at almost any NRL club, there are a lot of things that go on behind closed doors that they have no control over.

‘It was a matter of thinking about yourself and taking stock before throwing stones at others.

‘No, it doesn’t burn. We go back to all the hard work, I remember all the conditioning we did and how hard we played.

‘Just put an asterisk next to it or erase it, it doesn’t really bother me that much.

‘It’s the memories and the bonds we built with those people back then that we know we’ve achieved something.

‘I think there are still ambitions to fight and get the premierships back.

“And there have been fewer fines issued for more violations since then. Get it?”