Passers-by saw players run naked through the streets while other were photographed vomiting in the road as the end of season party boiled over.

The NRL came down hard on the club in the face of a massive media backlash and imposed a hefty $250,000 fine.

But today the NRL backtracked and said it would now be suspending half the fine for two years after the club begged for leniency.

An NRL statement added: "The Bulldogs had:

Acknowledged the seriousness of the breach;

Apologised to the game for the damage caused, and;

Committed to put measures in place to ensure there is no repeat of the behaviour."

An NRL spokesman added: “Under those circumstances, the NRL will suspend half the original fine.

“However the suspended part of the fine will be reimposed if there is any material breach of the Code of Conduct during the next two years.

“This incident should act as a reminder to all clubs and club officials that it is imperative to take extra precautions when organising club-sanctioned events.”

Today the club welcomed the NRL u-turn on the fine.

"We feel that as a club we have acted swiftly and decisively to both review the events of the day and to put in place improved procedures to make sure that this does not happen again," said Bulldogs Chief Executive Andrew Hill

Bulldogs Chair Lynne Anderson insisted the club had learnt from the experience:

"We acknowledge that some of the behaviours on the day were a poor look for the club and the game and we have reviewed everything that took place to make sure that we learn from it," she said.

"What we also need to remember here, however, is that good people will sometimes make mistakes and that should not take away from the fact that these same people have done a great deal in the community on behalf of the club and will continue to do so.

"They are part of our family at the club and we will always support them through any difficult times."

Coach Dean Pay added: "There is no doubt that everyone at our club has learnt a great deal from the events of recent times.

"When something like this happens you have to take stock and put in place structures to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

"There is no doubt that the images from the day were a bad look for everyone involved and it means that we have to take responsibility for it and learn from it.

"We also need to remember that this is not representative of us as a club and what we stand for."