Six Australian rugby league clubs in drugs probe

SYDNEY - Six Australian rugby league clubs have confirmed they are under investigation by anti-doping authorities in the wake of an explosive government report into the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sports Down Under.

The clubs Manly, Cronulla, Newcastle, Penrith, North Queensland and Canberra were informed by governing body, the National Rugby League, that they had been implicated in the report, the teams said on their websites on Tuesday.

The report, the result of a year-long probe by Australia's top criminal intelligence unit, has also implicated two Australian rules football teams.

The clubs said they were not given any further details from the NRL, but that they would co-operate fully with the NRL and Australia's national anti-doping agency.

The Australian Crime Commission report released last week said it had found "widespread" use of banned performance- enhancing drugs among professional and amateur athletes, with links to gambling and organised crime.