As many as 14 Cronulla players have reportedly been urged to accept a six-month suspension over an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation of NRL clubs.
Cronulla called a number of its players and their managers to an emergency meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the club's mention in an Australian Crime Commission report into alleged doping.
At the meeting lawyer Richard Redman, a former ASADA senior counsel who's been hired by Cronulla, told the players they should voluntarily stand down for six months or risk ASADA's maximum two-year ban, News Ltd reports.
It's understood the players have 48 hours to make up their minds, and if they accept the ban they'll continue to be paid.
ASADA told Sharks officials and players this week of the extent of their involvement in the investigation, which focuses on the time sports scientist Stephen Dank spent at the club in 2011, although Dank has denied any wrongdoing.
