Australian forward Paul Gallen called on drug cheats to be named and shamed after the NRL found itself amongst the targets of suspicion following revelations nine athletes had tested positive to a banned stimulant.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) on Saturday confirmed the positive results for methylhexaneamine, or DMAA - a substance commonly found in body building and dietary supplements - with all nine athletes now facing possible two-year bans.

The AFL, Athletics Australia and a host of other sports claimed either their athletes weren't involved or that they had no knowledge of positive tests in their respective sports, while the NRL released a statement admitting four players from lower level competitions were under investigation over the use of the banned substance.

It is not known if those four players - one from the national under 20s competition and another three from NSWRL-run competitions - are amongst the nine positive tests announced by ASADA, but Gallen called for all guilty findings to be made public so as to clear others involved in the sport.

"After they've gone through the whole process, it's (still) probably a bit premature to come out and name and shame them, but if they've been found guilty I suppose they should be," said Gallen, who claimed to have been drug tested 20-25 times already in 2010.

"I don't know if any rugby league players would be taking it, I doubt it.

"We're highly regulated in what we take, all our clubs are guaranteed off the manufacturers what we're getting and we all take the same stuff."

Gallen's NRL club Cronulla is one of 10 clubs who have BodyScience as their official supplier of supplements, with players at all clubs well versed in the dangers of consuming over-the-counter items.

"I don't think there would be too many blokes going out buying stuff over the counter and going off on their own bat and trying something different, it's probably too risky," Gallen said.

"We get drug tested probably as much as any athletes in the world so hopefully all of us are pretty good."

The AFL released a statement on Saturday stressing none of their players were involved.

"Under the ASADA performance enhancing drug protocols, any positive test of an A sample is immediately communicated to both the national sporting organisation and the athlete," AFL corporate affairs manager Brian Walsh said.

"The AFL confirms that it has received no such communication from ASADA.

"I don't know who they are, but they are not ours."

Athletics Australia weren't in a position to make such a bold statement of innocence about their athletes, but did confirm to AAP they were not aware of any positive tests with their athletes.

AA chief executive Dallas O'Brien did say it was his understanding the banned supplements had likely been taken inadvertently, but wasn't aware of any athletes testing positive.

Athletics has already been tarnished by DMAA, however, as that is the drug Nigerian runner Osayomi Oludamola tested positive for at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, subsequently being stripped of her 100m gold medal.

"We certainly haven't been informed about anything," O'Brien told AAP on Saturday.

"(The report) said Commonwealth Games athletes, that could be anyone I guess, swimming or anything.

"But we certainly haven't been informed and I think that's the usual procedure, they have a fairly long procedure to go through with any athletes, any footballers, whoever it may be before we hear anything about it.

"But certainly nothing has come across my desk, I can assure you."

Asked if he was concerned the public might assume the athletes involved are from athletics, O'Brien said: "Possibly, I believe they're actually in supplements so if anything's happened it has been taken as a mistake I believe anyway."

Football Federation Australia released a statement on Saturday confirming it had not been notified by the ASDA of any positive tests to banned drugs being detected among its athletes.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP