All bets off for Storm
07/16/2010 03:09:30 AM
An online bookmaker has suspended betting on Melbourne's match against New Zealand on Saturday amid rumours that the Storm will boycott the remainder of the season.
There has been talk the Storm squad will not take to the field for their match against the Warriors following Thursday's release of an independent investigation of the club's salary cap rorts.
The audit carried out by accounting firm Deloitte revealed that the Storm were $3.17 million over the cap since 2006, almost double what was first thought.
The Storm were stripped of their two premierships in April and will play for zero points this season, leading many to question the players' motivation to play out the year.
With that in mind sportsbet.com.au has decided to cancel betting on the Storm's match against the Warriors and may not offer markets on their matches for the remainder of the season.
"It's getting very hard to frame markets for Storm matches as we can't get an accurate read on the players' motivation to perform," said sportsbet.com.au's Haydn Lane.
"They've been brave but it must be hard putting your body on the line week in week out for no reward."
"At this stage it looks likely we'll draw a line through their matches for the rest of the season."