(Matt Poynting is a freelance journalist, league fan and BPL contributor.)

Another day, another NRL star caught up in controversy. It seems every year there are more incidents occuring off the field before the players even step on the field. This time it's rebel without a clue Todd Carney, betting Bulldog Ryan Tandy and now the "face of this NRL season" Benji Marshall. These three players have caused the game more trouble in the space of two weeks than most will cause in a career.

To be fair, the incidents do differ in severity. Ryan Tandy allegedly fixed a match - a cardinal sin in any sport. Carney - last year's Dally M Medallist - was caught up in a drink driving charge which saw him levelled with a $10,000 fine. Marshall's alleged altercation with an "abusive" male outside a McDonalds on George St, while relatively minor, has thrown the league back into the hole it is so desperately trying to claw its way out of.

While a punch-up in the city is nothing new to some NRL players, for Marshall it has added weight. He was to be the face of the 2011 season. The Tigers' flashy five-eighth kicked off the year at the NRL's official season launch and many considered it a good move. But this latest incident, (and it's not Marshall's first - remember that photo in the Daily Telegraph last year?) is a huge setback for the NRL.

After receiving positive press for their decision to go with Marshall as their poster boy, the NRL has now been utterly humiliated yet again. The Australian newspaper, normally more of an AFL publication, gave a glowing review of the NRL's choice in ambassador saying that while other season launches have been a prelude to calamity (Brett Stewart anyone?), the league appears to be on "safe turf with Marshall".

Marshall himself said the new role would not affect his off field behaviour: "My role is to do the best I can for the club and away from the game, represent the game as best as I can, and to be a great role model for kids." Good luck with that.

The NRL has been embarrassed for the last time. They are a laughing stock among the big four football codes and the fact that the NRL took their season launch to Casula in a bid to emphasise that Western Sydney is their turf, makes this joke even funnier. It's time for a reassessment. The NRL needs either a paradigm shift in its choosing of representatives, or it needs strict structures in place which ensure that these players are the best possible ambassadors for the game.

It's very easy to go with a guy like Marshall who is immensely popular among the kids and adults watching the game, plays for a team essentially entrenched in the Western Suburbs, and has a dazzling array of skills on the park. But what David Gallop and the NRL need to remember is that Marshall is also a young man with a lot of talent and a lot of money. That, history shows, often leads to a big head.

There is really no way of predicting how a player will deal with fame. But the NRL needs to take different steps to prevent incidents like this happening to high-profile players. The first option is to pick different players. Darren Lockyer is an old man in rugby league terms. Nearing the record for most games, most Tests, most Origins and almost everything else, Lockyer is still an immensely popular player who also happens to be on the straight and narrow and has won nearly every major award. Why not go with him? Petero Civoneceva is also fairly long in the tooth, but ask 10 NRL fans (of any team) and at least eight will tell you they like the bloke. When was he last in a brawl in The Rocks? Same goes for Nathan Hindmarsh, Robbie Farah, Luke Lewis, the list goes on.

Less stable ‘superstars', combined with added fame and responsibility, is not a good mix. The NRL must bite the bullet and go with a player who is a little less ‘cool' but a lot more secure.

If they still want to try out superstars for the role of the game's new face, do it properly. Make it an actual representative position. Don't continue to pick your Benji Marshalls, your Brett Stewarts and your Jarryd Haynes and just take their photo occassionally. Send them to community events, functions, talkback radio, whatever it takes. Give them a mentor (somebody like Wendell Sailor who has been to the dark side and appreciates what a privilege it is to play in the NRL) and actually prove that this could be a special role for a particular player every season. Make it a little bit special.

Maybe then the league can finally start gaining ground on the other leagues which, at this stage, are forging miles ahead.