NRL star Greg Inglis has escaped conviction and been placed on a good behaviour bond for his "very poor decision" to drink and drive.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs captain on Monday was handed an 18-month good behaviour bond for having a blood alcohol of 0.085 on October 1 last year when he was caught speeding at 99km/h in an 80 zone on the outskirts of Lithgow.
Downing Centre Local Court was told Australian Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg were among those who'd written character references for the father of two and long-time rugby league star.
NSW chief magistrate Graeme Henson when sentencing Inglis considered his remorse, lack of criminal record, guilty plea, substantial charity work and the media attention surrounding the case.
He also noted the incident led to Inglis being banned from driving and stripped of the captaincy of the national men's rugby league team - an honour only bestowed on an indigenous man once before.
Inglis, who turns 32 on Tuesday, said he was grateful after avoiding a conviction.
"It was a very poor decision on my behalf," the father of two told reporters.
"I'm very sorry and remorseful for what happened. I try to be a positive role model in the community and around the club and around Australia itself.
"(My focus now is) getting back into training now and being (a) positive role model."
The court heard Inglis didn't know how much he drank while celebrating the end of the Koori Knockout tournament in Dubbo on September 30.
But he headed to bed about midnight and waited until 11am to drive back to Sydney.
He had a schooner at lunch in Lithgow minutes before he was stopped by police.
"It must have been quite a heavy night before," Judge Henson said.
"I accept you did your best at that time. None of us are perfect as much as we try."
But the chief magistrate lectured the NRL star on the risk drink drivers pose to the community.
"Driving at speed while drink driving makes you something like three or four times more likely to crash," he told Inglis.
"There is only one safe approach - drink and don't drive or drive and don't drink."
Inglis's lawyer, James Jordan, noted the NRL star completed his traffic offenders program with the general public despite being offered private sessions which would have allowed him to avoid further scrutiny.
