CRONULLA officials will be made to reveal to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority their reasons for sacking four staffers and encouraging players to accept six-month bans, or face the prospect of being suspended for a minimum of four years.
The NRL has told Cronulla, and the other five clubs - Manly, North Queensland, Newcastle, Canberra and Penrith - named in the Australian Crime Commission's report into doping and the integrity of sport, they must immediately hand over all materials and evidence they find in their internal investigations.
In the Sharks' case, it will mean providing the information the club used to reach its decision to remove its support crew.
It is understood failure to do so is a breach of the ARL Commission's anti-doping policy and will be considered an attempt to cover up the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the minimum sentence is four years.
The Sharks board controversially stood down coach Shane Flanagan and sacked key staff members including Darren Mooney, Mark Noakes, David Givney and Konrad Schultz. They have not publicly explained their reasons for doing so, although former chairman Damian Irvine's assertion that players were administered with a ''horse drug'' cost him his position. Irvine has said he will stand for the role again at the next elections.
Nor has the board outlined the reasons for encouraging 14 players to accept six-month bans for taking performance-enhancing substances. The directors even offered sweeteners to accept the deal, including contract extensions and the honouring of representative payments. Administrators floated the proposal in exchange for the players waiving their right to sue the embattled club.
While it is believed they haven't fully articulated the reasons for the drastic steps to the players, Sharks officials will need to fully brief ASADA or face sanctions.
Fairfax Media has been told ASADA's investigations revolve around the use of growth hormone-releasing peptides GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and CJC 1295. The latter, and Thymosin Beta 4, are reportedly the ones used by Cronulla players.
There is some dispute as to whether these peptides were banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency during the 2011 season. Only IGF-1 and MGF are explicitly banned by the agency. But GHRP-2, GHRP-6, CJC-1295, Hexarelin and Thymosin Beta are presumably banned under the catch-all terminology used by the agency.
The ''Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors and Related Substances'' section of the agency code prohibits the following: ''[Any] other growth factor affecting muscle, tendon or ligament protein synthesis/degradation, vascularisation, energy utilisation, regenerative capacity or fibre type switching and other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s).''
So athletes could still be penalised for using substances not specifically named in the report but which act similarly to those which are.
The key to the whole investigation could hinge on whether a proposed new bill, which provides ASADA with star chamber-type powers, is passed by Parliament. Under the ASADA Amendment Bill 2013: ''The additional powers would give the chief executive officer of ASADA the power to issue disclosure notices that would compel persons to co-operate in ASADA's investigations.''
Failure to co-operate will result in penalties, while there would be a reversal in the onus of proof in favour of the agency. Other key features include:
the right to intercept and examine mail;
coercive powers to interrogate witnesses;
a fine of $5100 for failure to comply with a disclosure notice.
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