Cronulla have confirmed five of their players have been issued with show-cause notices by ASADA.

Nathan Gardner, Wade Graham, Anthony Tupou, John Morris and Paul Gallen have been offered a proposal regarding a possible suspension by the anti-doping authority.

The club statement said the players need to consider the offers before the weekend and will consult with their legal representatives over the next two days in relation to their individual circumstances.

“The Sharks will continue to act in the best interests of the players and are providing on-going support, both to those issued with the notices as well as others in the club,” the statement said.

“Solicitors acting for the players will continue to manage the process on their behalf.”

A further 12 players who played for the club during the 2011 season have also been issued with show causes by ASADA.

Gallen expressed his concern on Wednesday morning that by accepting reduced bans, they’ll be labelled drug cheats.

“It’s (our reputation) tarnished now already, but no matter what, if we do this we’re going to be labelled a drug cheat,” he told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.

“It’s a tough situation to be in.

“Our mind and our mood changes every 10 minutes. At one stage we’re (thinking) ‘thank God, this is going to be over hopefully, whatever happens is going to happen and we can just get on with life’. Because closure on this thing would just be unbelievable (after) what we’ve gone through the past two seasons.

“But then you say ‘let’s stuff this, we’ve done nothing wrong’.

“It’s a real hard situation to be in.”

Regardless, Gallen was adamant he hadn’t taken any banned substance.

“I’m 100 per cent positive I’ve never taken anything that’s been on any banned list,” he said.