'Pitiful' Brett Dallas walks free from custody after admitting drug possession

The former Wigan winger was sentenced to two-and-a-half years at Mackay Supreme Court after he admitted aggravated drug possession.

But Justice Graeme Crow agreed the 46-year-old had "served enough time" - having been detained for 10 months - and should be released immediately. The remaining part of the sentence will be hanging over his head should he reoffend.

Crow noted Dallas early admission and warned him his "serious mental health problems will only be exacerbated by resort to illicit drugs" and reduce him to the "pitiful state which you are in now", reported Queensland's Courier-Mail.

The court was told he is on a compulsory treatment order, having become hooked on ice - or methamphetamine - after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2014.

Dallas had previously been convicted of stealing. It is a sad decline for someone who was revered for his achievements in rugby league and his exploits in a Wigan shirt for seven years.

He had already starred for Queensland and Australia when he joined the club ahead of the 2000 campaign. One of the fastest wingers in the game, Dallas was also a tough competitor and he helped the club to Challenge Cup glory in 2002.

He turned down several offers to return to the NRL and when he called time on his career, he poignantly left his boots in the middle of the DW Stadium pitch after his final game, against Hull FC in 2006. He returned to Australia and completed his trade as an electrician before his fall from grace.