star player greg inglis under police investiga, page-10

why league will never change..see below.. parents will steer their kids away from league unless the filth in player ranks, club mgmt ranks, nrl ranks is completely removed....

Two-week ban for Inglis likely to satisfy NRL
Brad Walter | August 12, 2009
STORM star Greg Inglis is set to be stood down from playing for a shorter period than the four-match ban Manly's Brett Stewart received earlier this year because of the swift action taken by the Melbourne board after he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

Inglis, who will today appear in Sunshine Magistrates Court on counts of recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault, has already been ruled out of Monday night's match against Newcastle, but how much longer he remains sidelined might depend on the evidence presented by police.

The Herald was told last night Inglis might plead guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful assault, while his girlfriend, Sally Robinson, is understood to have told friends that the 22-year-old Australian and Queensland representative did not punch her.

Channel Nine last night reported that the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, followed an argument between the pair after Inglis found a series of text messages on Robinson's phone.

While admitting that it was ''disappointing and frustrating'' to have both stars of this year's NRL advertising campaign embroiled in off-field scandals, league chief executive David Gallop said all players would be held accountable if they brought the game into disrepute.

However, he also said clubs had to take responsibility for meting out sufficient penalties to players who misbehaved, and indicated that the Sea Eagles' refusal to stand down Stewart, who was charged with sexual assault after the club's boozy season launch in March, had resulted in his receiving a longer ban than usually expected.

''Each issue has to be dealt with on its merits,'' Gallop said. ''Manly didn't take any action at the time, [so] the league took action on the basis that a player was publicly drunk and asked to leave licensed premises at their season launch - a player who had been handed the responsibility of being the face or one of the faces of our ad campaign.''

The Herald reported at the time that if Manly had stood down Stewart for two matches, the NRL would likely have been satisfied, and a similar ban on Inglis may also be considered sufficient.

''The matter is back in court tomorrow, and it is difficult to pre-empt what the next step is, but certainly in our view this would go beyond a one-week suspension,'' Gallop said. ''… Let's wait and see as the facts come to light over the next couple of days.''

Responding to a call in yesterday's Herald by Manly chairman Scott Penn for the NRL to be consistent in the penalties imposed for off-field incidents, Gallop said: ''The suspension that we imposed on Brett Stewart wasn't related to the assault charges, and I think Scott probably didn't consider that when he made his comments last night.''

Gallop repeatedly made mention during a media conference yesterday of players ''finding themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons'', and a significant factor the NRL takes into account when determining whether a player has bought the game into disrepute is how much publicity their misbehaviour attracts.

Meanwhile, Storm chief executive Brian Waldron said both Inglis and Robinson were undergoing counselling. ''Sally is in good spirits, she is doing as well as possible for what is obviously a very testing time for her,'' Waldron said. ''He's [Inglis] doing it tough. He is aware of the severity of the situation.''

Waldron was adamant the 2007 Clive Churchill medallist had a future in the game. ''What he will do when he comes back on the field, whenever that is, is be a wonderful athlete,'' Waldron said.