Sydney Roosters hire NRL’s salary cap auditor to stop innuendo about big-money signings

FED up of innuendo over the big-money signings of James Tedesco, Cooper Cronk and Angus Crichton, the Sydney Roosters have hired the NRL’s top salary cap man to scour their books.

The Roosters want to prove their business is all above board.

THE Sydney Roosters have hired the NRL’s most respected salary cap auditor to shut down the constant innuendo about their big-money signings of superstars James Tedesco, Cooper Cronk and Angus Crichton.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Ian Schubert, the man who exposed the Melbourne Storm scandal in 2010, started work at the Roosters on Monday as their salary cap compliance manager.

Cronk, Tedesco and Crichton joined the Roosters on multimillion-dollar contracts, triggering a huge fan backlash on social media and unfounded accusations the glamour club was rorting the cap.

Roosters supremo Nick Politis is fed up with the constant sniping.

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Ian Schubert will ensure the Roosters are cap compliant.

“We’re actually well under the cap for this season,” Politis told The Daily Telegraph.

‘’Everyone is jealous of the Roosters. This has been going on for 50 years.

“But no-one knows the salary cap better than Schuey. That’s why we hired him. He’s across all of it.

“With any issues he knows who to speak to at the NRL and he’ll make sure we never have any problems.”

Schubert, who worked at the NRL as chief salary cap investigator for more than a decade, has a long association with the Roosters. The former Kangaroos winger played 122 games for the club.

The Roosters have lost Mitchell Pearce, Shaun Kenny Dowell, Michael Gordon, Connor Watson, Aidan Guerra, Jayden Nikorima and Kane Evans from last year’s roster.

Those players freed up more than $2 million of the cap and allowed for the signings of Cronk from Storm and Tedesco from the Wests Tigers.

The Roosters still insist they are around $750,000 under the cap for 2018.

Schubert and coach Trent Robinson will soon decide what do with the cap excess.

A number of players could be prepaid part of their 2019 contract money to soften the pressure of adding the blockbusting Crichton to next year’s salary cap.

The Roosters are in an awkward position with their chief executive Joe Kelly caught up in Manly’s salary cap investigation from his old job as Sea Eagles CEO.

He was issued with a breach notice last month and is fighting to clear his name.

Manly’s recruitment for the upcoming season has been stalled by the NRL’s investigation.

Coach Trent Barrett has been unable to sign a replacement at five-eighth for Blake Green until the NRL hands down a ruling.

Originally published as Sydney Roosters hire NRL’s salary cap auditor to stop innuendo about big-money signings