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Message: [QUOTE="Kooly87, post: 3031481, member: 9326"] I'm not suggesting they bought in developed stars. Of course they were a huge factor in their recruitment and development into the players they eventually became. I said as much above and I would argue that point until the cows came home. There has been no club better at identifying and nurturing talent in the last 15 years than the Melbourne Storm. That said though, who is to say Cam Smith would not have found greatness elsewhere too, or Billy Slater for that matter? The fact they all found it at Melbourne at the same time though no doubt helps to shape your perception of Bellamy and of Melbourne but the fact remains we'll never know what they may have achieved in different environments and especially not as a combination playing on the same team, so for me that does put an asterisk next to some of their achievements. I admire Melbourne and Bellamy and I'd prefer the asterisk wasn't there so those achievements could be recognised in full in my eyes, but we've been robbed of ever really knowing because they chose to break the rules which was entirely within their control. I'm not necessarily of the belief that the salary cap is fair in that sense. But the fact remains it exists and as far as we know the other clubs at the time were abiding by it and we know Melbourne were not. I'm simply saying that a huge part of our belief in their aura and success is undoubtedly shaped by their success during that time. Even though we're supposed to remember that it was removed from the history books because it was achieved illegally, I don't doubt that subconsciously for many fans that's just not possible to do. I think it's entirely fair to say that many clubs are capable of identifying and producing amazing talent. You could probably argue that the Broncos may have achieved a similar level of success had they chosen to retain their greatest talent during that time regardless of compliance to the salary cap, and for me, that is where I think this aura around Melbourne and how long they've been the benchmark for is built somewhat on false perceptions for many people. [/QUOTE]

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