Being a big Manly and Stewart fan I know my view is bias, but there is something about this story that doesn't seem right to me. Usually these type of allegations occur during party scenes where excessive alcohol and flirting lead to things getting out of control. Whilst this is no excuse and is still totally reprehensible, situations like these where idiots go to far are much more believable. But this allegedly occurred early in the evening outside of a unit block, and I find it hard to believe he would be stupid enough to just out of nowhere assault a girl on a stairwell in a situation that was unprovoked and could only lead to him getting into trouble. Im not pretending to know Stewarts character off the field, and I dont want to say this is not his go because I dont know what his go is, but this seems very unusual and out of character for any undisturbed person. I think there may be much more to this story then we are hearing.
Guilty or not though mud sticks and for a bloke who has the world at his feet this year, this will be very damaging. Hopefully the truth comes out either way though, and Im just really hoping that these allegations are false and he hasnt done something that will really damage both his and the alleged victims lives.
This has been a horror year off the field for Manly, its really disappointing after the massive high we have been on over the last 12 months.
