Melbourne receive a lot of praise for their professionalism, but the Sydney Roosters are in the same ballpark when it comes to off-field management.

The glamour club is often the butt of jokes about ‘Salary Sombreros’ – and that’s to be expected given the financial clout on its board.

But in reality, the Roosters are constrained salary cap pressures. And we’ve heard the club – like Canterbury and Canberra – might have over-estimated next year’s mark.

But rather than conduct a public fire sale, the Roosters went about complying quietly and methodically.

View photos Jayden Nikorima (centre) is leaving Bondi. Image: Getty More

You might need to be reminded that EIGHT first graders were moved on this year . . . such is the lack of fanfare.

There’s been four mid-season departures – Dale Copley (Titans), Liam Knight (Raiders), Paul Carter (sacked) and Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Roosters). We reckon their exits have saved the Roosters at least $450,000 this year alone.

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The club then needed to decide who it didn’t re-sign and was assertive: Aidan Guerra and Kane Evans knew where they stood and have found deals elsewhere.

Finally, they’ve released boom utility Connor Watson to Newcastle, a feel good move that gives the Central Coast junior the chance to play regular first grade with the team he supported as a child.

The last cab off the rank will be former Bronco Jayden Nikorima, who is on decent money next year and could find himself at Les Catalans.

All up, we reckon the Roosters have sliced at least $1.3 million off their cap for next year – easily enough to accommodate James Tedesco and upgrades to their remaining players.