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NRL 'satisfied' with ASADA's handling of Bronson Xerri scandal

Acting NRL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Abdo (pictured left) and Bronson Xerri (pictured right).
Acting NRL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Abdo (pictured left) has accepted ASADA's timeline for Bronson Xerri's (pictured right) banned substance test. (Getty Images)

The NRL say they are satisfied with ASADA's version of events on why it took six months for Bronson Xerri to be told he'd tested positive to banned substances.

Xerri was only told on Tuesday that he would be provisionally suspended after testing positive to performance-enhancing drugs last November.

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The timing, which fell just two days before the season's restart, puzzled the league and frustrated former and current players.

It prompted the NRL to contact the doping agency over the delay, noting the fast turnaround to stand down James Segeyaro after a positive test for Ligandrol last year.

But interim chief executive Andrew Abdo said he had heard back from the agency and was satisfied with the explanation.

"ASADA is an independent organisation. We have written to them and asked to understand the process and time it has taken," Abdo told Triple M.

"They have responded and we are satisfied with the response we have received.

"But obviously this is a difficult time for Bronson.

"It was just an understanding of the process that was taking place. It's obviously a really sensitive matter and not something we can talk about."

Xerri faces four year ban

Xerri faces up to four years on the sidelines and remains provisionally stood down as ASADA continue their investigations into the cocktail of banned substances.

A B-sample will likely take weeks to be returned, while the star centre's phone was initially seized and has since been returned.

He is yet to speak in detail about the situation, stating only this week that he was "devastated".