It's interesting to juxtapose this story with Weidler's piece on the weekend about how Brett probably wouldn't be a footy player if he had the choice again. Forgetting the clickbait headline for a moment, of all the pictures they could have used, they deliberately select one of him and Brett wearing Manly-branded T-shirts. Like the whole salary cap witch hunt (to which this is tied): guilt by association, guilt by innuendo, guilt by "unnamed sources". Guilt without proof. And even when the accusations are rubbished in a court of law, as they were in Brett's case, the assumption of guilt - "He got off because of his lawyers", "Maybe he didn't do that, but he must have done something" - remains.
The Sydney Morning Herald lost its way (and its readership) a long time ago. Even the Telegraph is a better paper. The sooner it disappears the better.