One of the NRL’s most feared figures is gone, with salary cap auditor Ian Schubert resigning on Wednesday.

Schubert, who oversaw the investigation into Melbourne’s 2010 salary cap scandal, leaves the position after 18 years of keeping clubs in check.

Schubert’s resignation continues a significant changing of the guard at NRL headquarters, with veteran communications officer John Brady also stepping down this month.

Undoubtedly Schubert’s legacy is the Storm scandal, where it emerged the club used two sets of accounts to systematically deceive the salary cap by paying players outside of their registered contracts.

Based on Schubert’s findings, the Storm were stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships as well as four minor premierships.

Schubert’s involvement in rugby league’s salary cap era is widely credited with creating an even competition which has produced nine different premiers in the past 15 years.

“Ian has managed an incredibly difficult role with a firm but fair approach and has always been mindful of the needs of the players as well as the sustainability of the clubs,” NRL chief operating officer Jim Doyle said in a statement.

Schubert said his job was rarely popular but rewarding nonetheless.

“I’ve had a memorable time in the game,” Schubert, who played 272 first grade games for the Sydney Roosters, Western Suburbs and Manly, said in a statement.

“Naturally, those times as a player are hard to beat but the rewards of being an administrator where your contribution is not always noticed, or appreciated, is both rewarding and challenging.

“I have been fortunate to play alongside and against some of the greats of the game during my time as a player and over the past 18 years to also work closely with some very passionate people who may not have played but certainly have the same passion for the game as any player.”

Schubert will be succeeded by Jamie L’Oste Brown, who has worked on the salary cap for the past seven years.