Whether it was a tactic to avoid having to talk about Anthony Seibold and the Broncos, or an honest mistake, Wayne Bennett's lunch at a Sydney restaurant on Wednesday was a genuine stuff-up.

It was a breach of the strict rules that have allowed NRL coaches, players, camera operators, sound technicians, journalists, commentators and myriad other people to get back to work.

Not only that, but Bennett was part of Project Apollo, the crack squad tasked with getting the sport back on the park during the coronavirus pandemic.

And while some of those measures were eased as the curve flattened in June, the league was pretty black and white about the rules when it brought them back for all clubs outside Queensland in mid-July.

"Players and staff within team bubbles will not be allowed to attend venues including cafes, restaurants, pubs, beaches and golf courses to avoid community contact during the current spike in COVID-19 cases," an easily googled NRL statement on July 14 read.

But rather than put his hands up and cop to a mistake on Thursday, Bennett laid the blame at the feet of the rules for being too hard to keep track of, saying the team was "totally confused about what we can and can't do" because "the rules have changed that many times".

"You look at a TV news program and people in different parts of Sydney have different rules, we've got rules for ourselves, then there's the border stuff — I come from Queensland and I've got family up there still," he said on Thursday.

The fact that Bennett has family in Queensland has no bearing on him going to a restaurant in Leichhardt.

He even admitted "we've got rules for ourselves" and said the team was given a refresher on the rules "a couple of weeks ago". Clearly those — the rules put in place to allow NRL staff to get back to work while others are unable to — are the ones to follow.

Bennett also said he "didn't think it was a breach" of the rules and if he had known then he wouldn't have gone. But in the same press conference he said: "I think I do know the rules. I'm confident I do know the rules."

Even if Bennett thought he knew the rules, when it was becoming clear that he had accidentally broken them, wouldn't that be the time to reconsider some of that confidence, especially if he was also so confused?

Instead, Bennett also took aim at some combination of the media and the person who dobbed him in, saying he was told after training that "someone had made me a headline" and describing the line of questioning about how one of the game's most senior figures could make this mistake as "small-minded".

'Everyone is well aware of the protocols'

Compare that to Dragons prop Paul Vaughan, who was sent into a two-week "COVID hold" for similar reasons on Thursday.

If the reports that he used a fake name or didn't sign in at the Illawarra cafe he attended are true, his transgression is arguably worse than Bennett's, but he and the club copped to it.

In St George Illawarra's first statement, the team unequivocally confirmed the breach and said it was disappointed in Vaughan.

Once the 14-day self-isolation period was confirmed for the star prop, chief executive Ryan Webb said Vaughan had let down the entire organisation, as well as the fans, flagging the possibility of the club handing down more sanctions.

After the Dragons lost to the Roosters on Thursday night, coach Paul McGregor said Vaughan was selfish, and the player agreed, adding "reckless" to the list of descriptors because he knew the rules.

"I'm sorry for the harm my actions have caused to the club and my teammates."

Bennett's son-in-law and former Broncos charge Ben Ikin told Fox Sports "there is not a single NRL employee, player, coach, whoever, that is inside the bubble at the moment, who does not know those rules".

So why didn't Bennett, who has been involved with Project Apollo, know what Vaughan says is common knowledge? When he was caught out, why did he feel the need to blame everyone but himself? And in the future, if a player slips up, how can Bennett or the organisation reprimand them with a straight face?

The fact of the matter is, New South Wales has had more than 350 new cases of COVID-19 since the league announced it was re-enacting some of the stricter restrictions on NRL teams based in the state. Victoria is in the midst of a second wave, and Queensland is nervously watching its borders. This thing is not over.

Yes, the staff on these NRL (and AFL) teams have sacrificed a lot to give sports fans something to watch and sports journalists something to write about during this time, maybe keeping some of us from getting cabin fever.

But Bennett, Vaughan and the rest of the NRL are also privileged enough to have a job in these uncertain times; to play and coach the game they love for a living; and to have a public platform. They have to use that platform responsibly in a time when, just one state over, hundreds of people aren't staying home despite testing positive.

That doesn't mean being perfect. It just means doing your best to know the rules and showing some contrition when you mess up.