BRETT Stewart was last night branded "Mr Double Demerit" as the NRL took its toughest-ever stance to save rugby league's battered image after a decade of scandal.
Making no apologies for personally intervening to have Stewart stood down for the next four weeks, Gallop said the Manly fullback had paid the ultimate price because he had failed in his role as the NRL's face of 2009.
A desire to end the annual cycle of drama that precedes each season also played a large part in Stewart becoming only the second player in NRL history forcibly benched by the game's top official.
"Players shouldn't need to be told that the last weekend before the start of the season is double demerit weekend," Gallop told The Daily Telegraph last night.
"Brett Stewart had a big responsibility to the code and he is now Mr Double Demerit."
Gallop's stern action came yesterday as research by The Daily Telegraph laid bare the full extent of the NRL's ongoing battle with alcohol-fuelled bad behaviour.
In the last 10 years the code has been rocked by at least 80 separate incidents involving booze.
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Players and clubs have shelled out at least $500,000 in fines; over half the incidents have involved police but somehow, despite many serious offences, only one player - Wes Naiqama - ended up with jail time.
Dating back to Julian O'Neill's infamous treatment of teammate Jeremy Schloss's shoe in the 1999 pre-season, the NRL has averaged a new damaging drama on its hands every 45 days for the entire decade.
Stewart is facing a charge of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. He has denied the allegations.
After lengthy deliberations that extended into the early hours of yesterday morning, Manly's board decided the fullback should continue to play. Gallop - who had a "robust" tele-conference with Sea Eagles directors during the
meeting - was disappointed when he discovered the club had failed to act at 1am.
He spent the next three hours pacing the hallway, contemplating what to do next.
"The biggest thing on my mind was that the ball was now in our court," Gallop said. "We wanted Manly to do something and thought they were going to."
Under the NRL's Code of Conduct, Gallop is empowered with the sole discretion to overrule the clubs and suspend any player if he believes a breach has occurred.
In Stewart's case, the NRL relied on a rule that binds players to "sober, professional and courteous behaviour" while consuming alcohol to justify intervention. There are also a number of clauses in Stewart's playing contract and registration form that oblige him to not bring the game into disrepute.
Gallop acted upon being satisfied the 24-year-old had been drunk and refused service during last Friday's now-infamous club season launch.
The term of Stewart's exile was discussed at a meeting between Gallop and top Manly administrators, CEO Grant Mayer and chairman Scott Penn, at NRL headquarters yesterday morning.
The ultimate four-week suspension gives both parties enough time to determine how the case is likely to pan out in the long term, with a hearing not expected for another 9-12 months.
Results from police DNA tests and further witness testimonies will give Manly and Gallop a better idea of whether Stewart should return this season.
"It's in everyone's interest - including Brett Stewart - that the player be taken from the spotlight for the time being," Gallop said.
"I paced around the hallway during the night to come to a decision - but I often do that.
"There was a concern from Manly that Brett could be stood down until the court hearing, which might take a year.
"That was never my intention."
Penn last night confirmed that Manly will not appeal Stewart's suspension.
The club is, however, considering its position on a $100,000 fine levelled by the NRL for bringing the game into disrepute at last Friday's function at Manly Wharf Hotel.
Gallop admitted that NRL staff had reacted to the Stewart allegations with a sense of resignation after so many dramas in recent years.
"There was a battle-hardened response - which is not where we want people who work at the NRL to be," he said.
"Something like this should come as a major shock, but unfortunately we've had a lot of experience in recent years."
The list published on these pages - which has even been heavily edited for space reasons - spells that painfully out.
Stewart is not alone in his status as a high-profile offender. Some of the game's biggest names - Brad Fittler, Willie Mason, Craig Gower and Mark Gasnier - have all been involved in trouble while out drinking.
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