Banned Cronulla centre Bronson Xerri has been given more time to clear his name

Banned Cronulla centre Bronson Xerri has been given more time to prepare his case as he fights to clear his name

Bronson Xerri is expected to argue he took a banned substance accidentally

Bronson Xerri’s appearance before an NRL anti-doping tribunal has been delayed after the Cronulla centre requested more time to prepare his case.

Xerri was scheduled to front the tribunal on Tuesday, but has been granted an extension by the NRL as he fights to save his career.

The Sharks star was provisionally suspended on May 26 after returning a positive result for several performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone.

He opted to have his B sample tested and then challenge the severity of his sanctions at an anti-doping panel, to be chaired by the former High Court judge Ian Callinan

That hearing was due to take place on Tuesday but it is understood Xerri’s legal team requested more time to prepare his defence and it was subsequently granted.

As well as testosterone, three other substances were found in Xerri’s system including androsterone, etiocholanolone and 5b-androstane-3a,17b-diol – all of which are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the NRL’s anti-doping policy.

The delay in his hearing means that Cronulla will be forced to continue paying the 20-year-old, although they are expected to be granted backdated salary cap dispensation when a final verdict is handed down.

That decision will now arrive next month. Xerri was recovering from shoulder surgery when he was subjected to a drug test in November last year and there is a school of thought that he will argue he took the banned substance out of naivety, with no desire to cheat.

The decision will ultimately rest in the hands of the tribunal, although Sports Integrity Australia and the World Anti-Doping Agency reserve the right to appeal any verdict if they believe it too lenient.

The anti-doping tribunal is expected to hand down a verdict in the James Segeyaro case at some point next month as well, the former Sharks hooker having argued that he ingested banned substance ligandrol inadvertently via a blender.

Segeyaro has been provisionally suspended more than a year ago but faced the tribunal at the beginning of October. Parramatta centre Michael Jennings is also expected to front the anti-doping tribunal before the end of the year after he was provisionally suspended on the eve of the Eels’ finals game against South Sydney.