The massive penalty, said to be the biggest ever in Australian sport, is unlikely to render the Storm club insolvent, given that it is not only privately owned but that it is owned by the deep-pocketed News Ltd. The NRL, which appears to have been celebrating the harshness of the penalty, is bound to impose the same fines and disqualification on any other club found to be cheating the salary cap, and my point is that this penalty may well spell the end for many clubs.

Indeed, with three or four or five teams playing in the competition without accruing points, and going broke fast as they do it, the NRL itself could be in strife. The competition would be a farce.

Much has been made of the Storm's demolition of the Warriors on Sunday, and of the support by Storm fans, but let's see how the Storm fares in a few weeks when its players get over the playing for pride rev-up and realise that they're playing for a raw deal. When this is reflected in gatetakings a team without a sugar daddy would be going backwards and accelerating.

The NRL will rue the day it imposed potentially mortal penalties. The fun and games has just begun. What's in store for the next one or two months?