By Dave Woods BBC Sport rugby league commentator

Tetley's Super League champions St Helens have been identified as one of the clubs to have allegedly broken the salary cap.

Saints beat Bradford 19-18 in last year's Grand Final

The Knowsley Road outfit will now have to counter claims that they overspent on players' salaries on the way to lifting the Grand Final trophy at Old Trafford.

The Rugby Football League remained tight-lipped as to which, if any, clubs are in breach of the salary cap regulations.

But with speculation growing to a frenzied level, they have now said they will make an official statement on Thursday.

However, BBC Sport Interactive understands that Saints have already been notified of the allegations against them.

The salary cap regulations state that clubs are only allowed to spend �1.8m or 50% of their income on players' wages, whichever is lower, in any given year.

The Bulldogs lost top spot in the NRL for breaching the salary cap

Any breach could lead to a fine or the docking of points, maybe both.

If the case against Saints is proved, any points deducted could dislodge them from the top six, although the club seems certain to make a strenuous denial of any wrong-doing.

A second club is also said to have breached the salary cap, but their identity remains a secret, at least until the RFL's announcement on Thursday.

In Australia last year, Canterbury Bulldogs were stripped of top spot in the NRL when they had all their points deducted because of their salary cap breach.