New Australian Test coach Wayne Bennett made an impassioned plea for the NRL to get tough on players' off-field behaviour in order to limit the number of "black eyes" blighting the code.

Bennett, one of the most respected figures in Australian sport, implored the NRL to implement "greater deterrents", including suspensions and even expulsion, for players who bring the game into disrepute.

As the Bulldogs sex scandal enveloped the code on the eve of the 2004 season, Bennett suggested the NRL follow the lead of racing and appoint a panel similar to stipendiary stewards.

The stewards have the power to suspend or disqualify licensed persons for offences under the Rules of racing.

Bennett backed league chief David Gallop's threat to deregister Bulldogs players even if they were cleared by police over sexual assault allegations made by a 20-year-old woman after a trial match in Coffs Harbour last month.

The veteran Brisbane Broncos coach said players had been allowed to get away with too much for far too long.

"It's an obvious concern," Bennett told 2KY's Big Sports Breakfast program.

"I've been coaching for 30 years this year and, if I coached for another 30 years, there'd always be some type of drama.

"It's the nature. What we have to understand ... if we're guilty of something in this game, it is that we haven't said to those who want to continually make mistakes, `look guys, there's a greater deterrent than what there presently is'.

"And until we address that issue ... and even when we do that, we'll still have them making mistakes, we'll still have them doing something they shouldn't do.

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