NRL boss Dave Smith has confirmed 12 past and current Cronulla players have accepted backdated 12-month doping bans.

Cronulla captain Paul Gallen and 11 of his current and former Sharks teammates on Friday accepted the bans backdated to November 21, 2013.

They reluctantly agreed to doping rather than face the prospect of an even-lengthier suspension over the club’s 2011 supplements program.

Smith confirmed the bans on Saturday afternoon.

“There is no room for illegal substances in rugby league and the NRL will take whatever action is necessary to protect the integrity of the game,” he said.

“In this case, the evidence supports the fact that players were misled about the nature of the substances administered to them by people at the club who they should have been able to trust.

“The suspensions recognise the fact that the players were misled, that the investigation has been ongoing for the past 18 months and that players made timely admissions after being provided with evidence earlier this week.

“But, the players, coaches, staff and administrators are on notice that we have a zero tolerance to breaches of the anti-doping policy.”