ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie says the NRL would have "withered and died" if their no-fault stand-down rule had not survived a legal challenge.

As the league looks set to introduce a proposed "punishment matrix", Beattie admitted the game was still feeling the effects of a horror off-season but commended the administration's stance toward player behaviour.

No exaggeration: Peter Beattie says the game cannot survive ongoing scandals without redress. Credit:AAP

Beattie said the matrix's new set of player punishment guidelines would build on their no-fault stand-down policy introduced at the start of the 2019 NRL season.

Beattie made no apologies for the league's hardline approach to player behaviour after Jack de Belin unsuccessfully challenged the no-fault stand-down policy in Federal Court in May, predicting dire consequences if the suspended St George Illawarra star had been successful.