and Lee Matthews, later being joined by former Hornchurch teammates Ashley Bayes, and John Martin. Stuart went on to win the Conference South and FA Trophy double with Grays that season, making 23 appearances in the league. The follow season, 2005–06 season, he made 34 appearances in the Conference National, reaching the play-offs finishing 3rd place, to be knocked out by Halifax Town 5–4 on aggregate. He also helped Grays Athletic retain the FA Trophy, defeating Woking 2–0 at Upton Park in the final. During the season, he received two red cards, the first against Exeter City on 19 November 2005 following a fight in the tunnel at half time with Exeter's Lee Phillips. The second red card came against Canvey Island on 2 January 2006, when Stuart was sent off in the 60th minute for punching teammate John Nutter. The 2006–07 season saw Stuart compete in all Grays' 46 Conference National matches, scoring two goals. On 31 October 2006, Stuart managed Grays Athletic in the Essex Senior Cup, defeating Concord Rangers 1–0. In May 2007, Stuart was called up to the England National Game XI by Paul Fairclough for the Four Nations Tournament. He won the Players', Supporters' and Manager's player of the year awards for the 2006–07 season. In October 2007, Stuart was held in custody by Essex Police on suspicion of assault, in relation to an incident involving Chris Beardsley which resulted in Beardsley's jaw being broken in two places. The incident occurred during a match with York City on 22 September 2007. He was charged with grievous bodily harm in December 2007. He made a further 43 appearances for Grays during the season, failing to score. Following the departure of Stuart Thurgood to Gillingham in November 2007, Stuart was handed the captaincy for the remainder of the season, having previous served as vice-captain. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Stuart was named as the Management player of the year. Stuart carried on his captain duties for the 2008–09 season. In February 2008, he pleaded not guilty to the charges of grievous bodily harm to Chris Beardsley. He went on trial on 2 September 2008, denying the allegations of intent and insisted it was an accident, trying to release himself of Beardsley's hold. On 5 September 2008, the jury acquitted Stuart of the charges causing Beardsley grievous bodily harm. Stuart scored his first goal of the