Photo: © 2010 AAP/COLIN WHELAN

The club yesterday admitted to years of systematic rorting of the league's salary cap system.

The $1.7 million worth of breaches helped turn the league's southern outpost into its powerhouse team, but now threatens to cast it into the sporting wilderness.

On top of losing its recent pair of premierships, it was today cut loose by its two major sponsors, Members Equity Bank and superannuation fund, Hostplus.

And it must play out the rest of the year unable to collect premiership points.

But Storm chairman Rob Moodie is urging fans to stick with the club, saying it can get itself out of this mire.

"I'm absolutely convinced it won't [fold]," he told a press conference today.

The man accused of masterminding the secret payments, ex-CEO Brian Waldron, this morning stood down from his position at the helm of Melbourne's new rugby union team, the Rebels.

Moodie has also offered his resignation to the Storm, saying his board should have picked up on the dodgy payments.

But he added that the league's audit system is clearly flawed.

"We didn't pick it up but neither did an internal audit every year, an external audit every year and a salary cap audit every year," he told the ABC.

"It was very well concealed. It doesn't say much for the systems."

Moodie believes neither coach Craig Bellamy nor the playing group are knew about the rorts.