Cronulla Sharks still have no assurances over possible penalty for doping allegations A LETTER from NRL boss Dave Smith confirms Cronulla have no assurances about avoiding retrospective disqualification this year. Sharks insiders are reportedly confident their team won't be stripped of the premiership should the club win three more finals matches to claim its maiden title. But that attitude seems misguided, given Smith offered no guarantees when he addressed the club in writing at the start of the season. On Friday, March 8, Smith responded to a letter from former Sharks director Craig Douglas the day earlier. In his letter, Douglas sought assurances Cronulla would "not be the subject to future penalties or sanctions" regardless of whether 10 players implicated in the ASADA investigation were stood down. Douglas stated it was the club's preference for players to stand down before that weekend's opening round, and accepted that if they took the field the club would be in a "difficult position." "The club earnestly believes there is no current breaches of the anti-doping rules and therefore requests that should any of the affected players take the field and subsequently enter a plea deal or are charged and convicted by ASADA, the club's season 2013 will not be the subject of future penalties or sanctions," his letter said. Sharks players celebrate during their win over the Cowboys. Smith sent a three-page letter in response that offered no comfort to the Sharks. "The NRL is not in a position to provide the assurances about the 2013 season that you are seeking," Smith wrote. The NRL at this stage does not have sufficient information, particularly in relation to any recent player conduct that may constitute breaches of the anti-doping policy, to consider this request properly. With Cronulla still fielding a host of players under investigation, the NRL has repeatedly declared it will not make determinations until ASADA's findings are complete. An announcement is expected shortly after the grand final. Two years have passed since Cronulla's squad was allegedly given peptides although ASADA has evidence that some individuals might have continued to source their own supplements after the program was abandoned in 2011. Injured Cronulla five-eighth Todd Carney concedes he'll need a miracle to make the field against Manly on Friday night.