George told the two-man judiciary panel of Bob Lindner and Tony Puletua,as well as judiciary chair Geoff Bellew,that Montoya was “a caring person and someone who puts everyone else before himself”.

He also revealed how Montoya had completed a 24-hour exercise bike ride in a hotel foyer before Christmas to raise awareness for mental health,helped with a clean-up exercise at a local junior rugby league club hit by the recent floods,and travelled to Brisbane every fortnight with teammate Wayne Egan to help with a homeless refuge.

Montoya made such an impression during his first few months at the club,George said that he was quickly elevated to the club’s leadership group.

NRL counsel Lachlan Gyles said a stiff penalty was needed to help send a message that such language would not be tolerated and the game needed to be inclusive for those on and off the field.

“Because it was not intentional does not mean it was not harmful;it’s not an excuse if no offence was intended,” Gyles said.

Mitchell Moses was suspended two games in 2014 while playing in an under-20s State of Origin game for a homophobic slur.

Ian Roberts,the first openly gay rugby league player,told theHerald on Mondaythat the NRL,Warriors and Cowboys needed to acknowledge the matter a lot earlier than they did.

“I’m obviously disappointed about the incident. It’s saddening. I understand things are said in the heat of the moment,but there needed to be a quicker response from the clubs and the NRL,” Roberts said.

Meanwhile,the NRL issued Broncos pair Payne Haas and Albert Kelly with breach notices alleging they brought the game into disrepute following a public incident in Sydney on 20 March.

Both players are alleged to have engaged in a physical altercation at a public venue after their round-two win over the Bulldogs.

The notices propose Haas be suspended one match and fined $10,000. In considering the proposed penalty,the NRL considered previous transgressions and his status as a senior player in the game. It is proposed Kelly be suspended one match and fined $5000.

Both players have five business days to respond to the breach notices.

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