Ex-Storm skipper tells of players' anguish

Robbie Kearns was with the Storm players when they learned of the penalties inflicted against the club. Photo / Getty Images

The Melbourne Storm's spiritual leader, former skipper Robbie Kearns, says tears flowed when the players were told of the ramifications of the NRL club's salary cap rort.

A foundation player of 169 games and captain until his retirement in 2005 before moving into a marketing role, Kearns was at the players' meeting yesterday when they were told they had been stripped of the 2007 and 2009 titles as well as three minor premierships, and docked all the points they earned and will earn in 2010.

"They're all in disbelief and are not too sure what to think," he said.

"There was a lot of emotion in the room, as you can imagine."

Kearns said regardless of the NRL decision to wipe their titles, the players considered themselves the champions.

He said they wanted to make a plea to the NRL to keep the record books intact.

"To say they didn't win it, well they did.

"The boys played that day and beat those teams and won the premiership.

"Last I heard the boys said, we can't accept that ... so I don't think we've heard the end of that."

The players and coach Craig Bellamy went to ground on Friday, with a club insider saying they were shattered and in no state to front the media.

Kearns said he didn't know how they would regroup for their match on Sunday against the Warriors and carry on through the season with no premiership points to play for.

"It's going to be hard, they've got a lot to prove to a lot of people, there's a lot of anger.

"I don't know how they'll go, Craig's a wonderful coach but this will be his biggest battle ever, to try and get the boys up for this weekend.

"Maybe the only thing they can do is try to play out the season and try to finish on top of the competition ...that might be their only reason for playing."

He believed the players didn't know about the systematic cheating, to the tune of A$1.7 million over five years.

"I can't speak for them but I think they probably presumed they were getting their fair slice of the pie, they're not adding up the slices to work out there's more than a pie here.

"99 per cent of people in this organisation have worked tirelessly to try and develop the game down here with integrity and respect and it only takes one or two and we've all been branded with the catch-cry of cheats.

"There only one or two in the club who have brought us to our knees which is really disappointing."

- AAP