David Gallop saw his fair share of scandals during his time as NRL chief executive — and his feud with the Stewart brothers played out on the game’s biggest stage.

Following a sexual assault charge in 2009, after drinking heavily at Manly’s season launch and while he was a ‘face of the game’ in NRL marketing, Brett Stewart was suspended for four games. Stewart and his brother Glenn were angered by the decision and subsequent comments from Gallop.

Reflecting on that call on Fox League’s Face to Face, Gallop reiterated that he had not prejudged Stewart with the ban and pointed out that under the current ‘no-fault stand down’ rule, Stewart might have been out of the game for far longer.

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“If you think about what would happen now if Brett was charged with those sort of offences, he probably would have spent 18 months to two years out of the game,” Gallop said.

“Being a lawyer, I was very conscious that there was a criminal charge so we shouldn’t go trying to prejudge that. There was some other behaviour on the night that we felt warranted a few weeks’ suspension, but I think maybe Brett looks back on it now, he’d realise that we didn’t put him out for the whole period while he awaited criminal charges.”

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Stewart was found not guilty in September 2010. Under the new no-fault stand down rule, he might have been sidelined until then; Dragons player Jack de Belin spent more than two years out of the game due to sexual assault charges before being cleared.

Gallop said he hoped that Stewart, upon whom the saga took a significant personal toll, was now able to appreciate he had been given fair treatment in the circumstances.

“As I say, when I look back and see what the rules are now, I think maybe Brett should understand that I tried to be as fair as we could be given the other things that had happened that night, the face of the game stuff,” Gallop said.

“He got a few weeks, but he certainly didn’t get two years out of the game.”

After two years of bad blood and not a word spoken between the Stewart brothers and Gallop, all eyes were on their meeting after the 2011 grand final.

Manly beat the Warriors and post-match scenes saw the brothers both bury the hatchet, as they each exchanged words and shook hands with Gallop on the podium. Glenn was Clive Churchill Medallist and came face to face with him twice.

Brett reportedly asked for an apology from Gallop.

“They won the comp and congratulations to that. It wasn’t the place to go debating what had happened,” Gallop said.

Brett Stewart retired in 2017 after a long career with the Manly Sea Eagles and is the ninth-highest tryscorer in Australian rugby league history, having notched 163 during his reign as the ‘Prince of Brookvale’.