Cronulla Sharks spared sanction for now CRONULLA will not face any possible sanctions from its contribution to the ASADA investigation until well after the grand final, with the NRL still not convinced theres satisfactory evidence to punish the club. The AFL's unprecedented move to dump Essendon from the finals has turned attention on to what measures the NRL are contemplating in regard to Cronulla, which has also been charged with accusations of systemic doping. The Daily Telegraph has learned the NRL decided long ago to wait until the ASADA probe is complete before determining any action against the Sharks, despite the fact an independent investigation resulted in the sackings of four Cronulla staff in March. With ASADA not expected to complete NRL player interviews until next week, Sharks legal representatives have been told they won't learn about any further action until mid-October at the earliest. That means Cronulla are now assured of a home final, raising the very genuine prospect of them progressing deep into September and eliminating numerous teams. Cronulla say they shifted training times to accomodate ASADA interviews, which have now been put off. Now in fifth place, they are also not without hope of winning a maiden title after upsetting joint ladder leaders Souths and Sydney Roosters this season. Officials from clubs still in finals contention have begun to contemplate the possibility of Cronulla knocking them out or even winning the title. Should the Sharks subsequently be found guilty of breaching the NRL's code of conduct over their 2011 supplement program, a nasty can of worms would await. "The AFL seems to have done a much better job - they've resolved it all before the finals and they can move on without any risk of other clubs being disadvantaged," a high-ranking official from a rival club said. If we get knocked-out by the Sharks and they're punished further down the track, it won't be any consolation for us. I'd imagine any club in that situation would be angry. And even if the NRL decide to strip points from them next year, what type of competition will we have? It's not like the NRL can keep fining them - they don't have the money. There's no suggestion the ten surviving Sharks players from 2011 are still receiving any ongoing benefit from the program, which sports scientist Steve Danks maintains was aboveboard. The club's independent review, carried out by Dr Tricia Kavanagh, found peptides CJC-1295 and GHRP-6 had been given to players in the form of injections, cream and tablets over an 11-week period. That discovery led to coach Shane Flanagan being stood down for two weeks, while Dr David Givney, trainer Mark Noakes, manager Darren Mooney and physio Konrad Schultz were all dismissed. Noakes has since been reinstated, much to the chagrin of NRL boss Dave Smith. But despite his displeasure with that backflip, Smith has resisted the urge to proactively manage an outcome to ensure the sanctity of his finals series. The AFL swooped on Essendon with ASADA still to determine doping charges against players, citing management failures as the reason to destroy the Bombers with a string of disrepute charges. Similar charges are available in the NRL's rules, but Smith and his legal advsiors didn't believe the Kavanagh report contains enough evidence for them to act before the finals. They've instead decided to wait until ASADA makes its findings, which has left the outcome of 2013 on shaky ground.