Knights enforcer slammed for ‘stupid’ act of poor discipline that could have cost his team dearly ‘That’s why he went to a few clubs’
- Hetherington became a serial offender
- He piles up the suspended weeks
- The Knights win despite his antics
Knights tough man Jack Hetherington has come under fire for slapping Wests Tigers player Will Smith after a career littered with previous offenses and sending offs.
The fiery striker slapped the Smith after being hit high in a tackle shortly after half-time in Friday night’s NRL clash between Newcastle and the Tigers. He was convicted for lashing out, which could have cost the Knights dearly.
While Newcastle won the match 34-18, the game was evenly balanced 18-10 at the time. And it wasn’t the first time Hetherington had struck like this.
In 61 games at four clubs, Hetherington was sent off once, convicted six times, suspended seven times and spent 18 weeks on the sidelines.
New South Wales coach Brad Fittler said it was a pattern the Knights forward needed to correct quickly.
“That’s why he went to a few clubs, a little hot under the collar,” he said.
Refer Peter Gough had no choice but to sin unstable Newcastle striker Jack Hetherington after he slapped Will Smith in the Knights’ win over the Tigers
Video replays show Smith goading short-melt Hetherington into fighting back and he does so with a right hand slap in Smith’s face
Former Australian, NSW and Cronulla enforcer Paul Gallen, now a commentator on Nine and an accomplished boxer, was also frustrated with Hetherington’s short fuse.
On Nine after the game, he said: “The thing is, everyone knows you’re sent off for 10 minutes these days.”
“I remember when I was playing four or five years ago, if you slap someone with a show of hands, it’s like a punch, you’re sent to the trash.
“This guy, he’s a good player, I think he’s a very good player. He’s an athletic guy, tall and strong, but so frustrating that he does stupid things.
“If you want to punch some guys in the head, go to the local gym and train someone during the week and take the frustration out of your system.”
Hetherington is a repeat slapper and on June 24 this year in a game against Penrith he again succeeded with the same result – spending time in the bin and dropping his side.
That afternoon, Hetherington marched for a fight with the talented Izack Tago of the Panthers.
Hetherington had completed a tackle on Tago before the Panthers cross gave his opponent a slight push, which the Knights backrower opposed.
Commenting on that match at the time, Michael Ennis was scathing towards Hetherington.
It’s bad discipline on Hetherington’s part. He got a little clip from Tago in the tackle and just went for it,” Ennis said.
“It was nothing more than a brush of Izack Tago, but he went after Hetherington.
“He tried to become the enforcer, but he let his emotions get the better of him. It’s costly for the opposing team tonight.
On June 24, Hetherington did the same when Penrith’s Izack Tago handcuffed him in a tackle which infuriated the angry Hetherington who slapped him and was thrown off.
Newcastle manager Adam O’Brien said “it wasn’t a smart move on Jack’s part” in the post-match press conference following the incident.
As a Bulldog in 2021, he was charged for a sixth time in 29 NRL games when he snagged Valentine Holmes from North Queensland.
Fox’s Cooper Cronk said after Will Smith’s slap, “Completely unnecessary from Jack Hetherington”. Whether you agree or not, there’s absolutely no way Jack Hetherington would react that way.
However, die-hard Knights Andrew Johns didn’t think the slap deserved a sin in Channel Nine’s commentary.
“They can’t throw it… I’ll somersault home, all the way home, if he gets thrown for it,” he said while covering Nine.