SHARKS head coach Shane Flanagan has been stood down pending a new investigation.
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The futures of up to 14 players embroiled in Cronulla's doping allegations will remain clouded until the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) completes its investigations and decides what action should be taken — a process that could take several more weeks.
Despite protests by players, staff and the board itself, ASADA can take as long as it deems necessary to investigate before notifying players and the club of possible code breaches.
Players cannot use "ignorance" as a defence mechanism and those who refuse to co-operate with ASADA investigators face the real possibility of being banned from the game for two years, effectively ruining their careers.
An extensive process over more than a month led to the sacking of Sharks football manager Darren Mooney, medico David Givney, trainer Mark Noakes and physiotherapist Konrad Schultz on Friday, while Flanagan was stood down.
Following the naming of the club and five other NRL clubs in the doping inquiry, the Sharks board — containing two lawyers — started an independent inquiry to investigate meetings with ASADA officials.
Commercial lawyer Peter Kerr, a member of the FINA doping panel and an Olympic water polo player, was advised to hire Tricia Kavanagh — wife of former Labor powerbroker Laurie Brereton — to investigate a period before, during and after controversial sports scientist Stephen Dank was associated with Sharks players and staff in early 2011.
The inquiry resulted in a damning condemnation of the football club staff's "serious management failures".
All along, National Rugby League chief David Smith stayed in touch with the Sharks' board of directors, ringing the club several times a day.
Acting on Ms Kavanagh's findings, the Sharks board, with chairman Damian Irvine overseas on personal business, again met and decided Mr Mooney and his staff had to go — and that Flanagan needed to stand down pending a further investigation.
One director told the Leader it was the "only decision" they could make.
"We have a chain of command leading to this board, which controls both leagues club and football club activities," he explained. "Her [Ms Kavanagh's] inquiry spelt out numerous failures.
"[They] are basically good blokes, but they failed the board and failed in their jobs . . . and we lost our confidence in them continuing in their jobs."
The Leader learned that well before Friday's announcement by Sharks deputy chairman Keith Ward, Peter Kerr used his contacts with the NSW Institute of Sport to find replacements for Dr Givney, Mr Noakes and Mr Schultz.
Another director, chartered accountant Craig Douglas, held talks with the NRL to secure extra funding to tie the club over and hire former Brisbane Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen as interim Sharks head.
Damian Irvine and Shane Flanagan did not return calls yesterday.
