I am probably going to be unpopular for having this opinion but I've had a think about it.
A majority of Australians don't follow Rugby League as passionately as people on this forum. They form what is called the general public and consist of people who don't care about it all to people who support a team because they have a cool name or someone like Benji or SBW played for them.
And lets face facts. The Australian general public is cynical when there is any kind of allegations of rape by anyone in society. And due to the trackrecords of people such as Todd Carney, the Bulldogs of 04 and that Sharks guy who hit the woman, people are even more cynical about rugby league players getting on the drink.
Imagine the public relations disaster if Stewart plays and scores a try. You can guarantee a massive photo of him with his finger up, smiling, celebrating the try with a very negative headline. And then within a few days the police decide they want to charge him.
The backlash to Stewart and Sea Eagles will be enormous. Much worse than what it is now. But the backlash to the NRL will be very difficult to recover from.
Stewart, his lawyers and manager will know enough about what the police know and what happened from Stewart's perspective to know whether he will be charge or have a significant leaning to yes or no. If there is any remote likelihood he will be charged he has to not play until this issue is resolved.
And then you must consider that he will not be in the best frame of mind to play and the association with the Sea Eagles will create a different kind of pressure and attention to the rest of the team, creating a huge distraction.
As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
