Russell Packer. Photo / Getty Images
Street thug Russell Packer has done the time, or half of it thanks to a successful appeal. Yet his crime was so vicious the NRL would be crazy to let him walk straight through the prison gates and into their playing ranks.
The former Kiwis and Warriors prop has just been paroled after a year in jail, sparking debate about whether he can make an immediate return with the Dragons.
Sad attempts by leading lights at the St George-Illawarra club to minimise Packer's disgusting 2013 assault only reinforce the importance of the NRL taking a strong stand by keeping him sidelined.
To recap, what Packer did was most definitely not how Dragons coach Paul McGregor and former Kiwis captain Benji Marshall have described it.
Packer punched Enoka Time in the head after an argument over cigarettes outside a Sydney city hotel, punched him on the ground, and then stomped on his head.
Time received two facial bone fractures, lacerations and was forced into a neck brace. The NRL responded by seeking character appraisals, talking to the police, then refusing to register Packer's just-signed four-year contract with Newcastle. The Knights axed Packer after he was jailed having admitted assault causing actual bodily harm. All good work by the NRL and club, but league must not rest there.
Marshall, the Dragons playmaker, has referred to this as a "misdemeanour". McGregor reckoned it was an " ... unfortunate incident, which was alcohol-fuelled, between a group of men. It was man v man."
Misdemeanour doesn't get close to accurate. Foot on head is definitely not man v man. The judge who initially sentenced Packer to a fixed-term two years in jail preferred "cowardly and deplorable".
Packer may be deported, and who could argue with that? This would thwart the Dragons, who have supported the Packers with a view to signing him, although the club issued a cautious statement on Tuesday as fans debated the issue.
Down the track, maybe Packer can play in the NRL again. But those on social media who believe Packer deserves the rights of an everyman - an immediate return to work - are operating on a misapprehension. There are consequences beyond judicial punishments for many convicted of crimes. Some can't travel because of drug convictions, others lose their careers because of professional rules.
The NRL must reinforce its abhorrence of Packer's act and has every right to consider the danger to its own sometimes troubled image if Packer goes straight back into action.
As is so often the case, attention is on the life and circumstances of the perpetrator while Enoka Time is offhandedly referred to as the "22-year-old victim". An NRL ban on Packer would help victims feel they can be be heard.
Maybe Packer can start afresh but there has to be a stand-down period. My head says two years while the heart would ban him forever. Interesting to know if Time has healed, and what he thinks.
The Halberg Awards system has fallen into disrepute.
The 2014 comparison of sporting apples and oranges is a lemon. The 28-person voting system needs an overhaul.
Failing to get the All Blacks and New Zealand cricket team into the final calculations is bad enough. The cricketers have turned the tide of history, and the All Blacks - while not at their very best - are still world-beaters in the sport that matters most here.
But those oversights are nothing compared with the omission of Auckland City's Ramon Tribulietx as Coach of the Year. His last-gasp nomination, after the Spaniard's eligibility was okayed, didn't help. But a reputable national awards system must be able to cope with late changes.
The remarkable third place in the Fifa Club World Cup doesn't tell the whole story, it's the way Auckland City played that was so impressive - a true coaching performance for the ages if ever there was one.
To turn an Auckland outfit into a team capable of outplaying professional sides from the world game was incredible. This was down to one man, his vision, commitment and skill. Maybe he wasn't coach of the year, although in my opinion he was. But Tribulietx had to be in the final hunt.