Eels fans in Orange are once again licking their wounds after the Sydney club descended into turmoil on Tuesday morning.

The NRL has stripped the team of their points, fined the club upwards of $1 million, stripped them of their Auckland Nines title and sacked three members of the board, as well as issuing show cause notices to two senior executives after it was found they had breached the salary cap by over half a million dollars.

Kelly’s Rugby Hotel owner and Eels fan Bill Kelly said as disappointing as the announcement was for fans, he felt for the players and staff.

“Because of the actions of board members in the past the players and staff are copping the brunt of it,” he said.

“I feel for them - it’s going to make playing the remainder of the season very difficult.

“There is a possibility they could still make the semi-finals but they would have to win every game from now on.”

Mr Kelly acknowledged the Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm had been through similar controversies and hoped the Eels could turn their fortunes around, just as those two clubs had done in recent seasons.

He did mention one light-hearted positive to come out of the NRL’s findings.

“I wonder if we’ll have to give back our wooden spoons as well?” he said.

“It’s hard to believe we cheated the salary cap and still came last for a number of years.”

Given the team’s positive results so far this season with six wins from nine games, another Eels fan from Orange, Jake Kopp, said the latest revelations could not have come at a worse time.

“The last few seasons we’ve been getting the wooden spoon, now we’ve started to play well we’re going to be stripped of all our points,” he said.

“It’s been such a good start and now it’s all for nothing - I feel let down.”

The NRL will only make a final determination on whether the preliminary findings are justified and propose penalties once it has considered the responses of the club and its officials.

For Eels fans in Orange and around Australia, it’s looking like yet another season without finals football.