NRL 2022: Mitch Barnett banned for six matches by NRL judiciary for hit on Chris Smith

Knights forward Mitch Barnett said he felt “horrible” after his shocking elbow on Penrith’s Chris Smith and will make changes to his game after copping a lengthy ban at the NRL judiciary.

Mitch Barnett was sent off for his high shot on Chris Smith.

Newcastle forward Mitch Barnett has been rubbed out of rugby league for six matches.

He’s been elbowed out of rugby league for an ugly elbow.

The whopping suspension – handed down at an NRL judiciary hearing on Tuesday night — is a hammer blow to Newcastle’s finals chances. Barnett will not return until Newcastle’s round 10 game against Canterbury.

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Barnett pleaded guilty to dangerous contact after being sent off for an elbow to the head of Penrith forward Chris Smith in the 31st minute of last Saturday’s match in Bathurst. He was referred directly to the NRL judiciary.

NRL counsel Lachlan Gyles, SC, sought a suspension of at least eight games, while Nick Ghabar, representing Barnett, asked the panel to consider a four-week ban.

Mitch Barnett was sent off for his high shot on Penrith’s Chris Smith. Picture: NRL Imagery

It was the sixth time Barnett has been charged since 2015.

After the hearing, Barnett said: “It’s disappointing but I will go away and do my time and do what’s best for the team. The lesson learnt is I can’t be careless with my actions in terms of player safety. I have to be better there, I know that.

“I will go away now and look at my record and make the necessary adjustments. I just hope Chris is alright. We have exchanged text messages.”

During the 90-minute hearing, where NRL CEO Andrew Abdo watched briefly from the gallery, Ghabar claimed Barnett’s act was “careless”, although Gyles argued it was “intentional”.

Gyles twice referred to Barnett’s hit as a “brain explosion”.

The two-member panel — comprising former first graders Bob Lindner and Tony Puletua – deliberated for 32 minutes before deciding Barnett’s immediate future.

The panel later admitted they considered the act to be “reckless” and also considered Barnett’s remorse.

Mitch Barnett claimed his hit on Chris Smith was careless, not intentional.

Barnett, whose evidence included a character reference from former NSWRL CEO John Quayle, told the hearing why and how the drama unfolded.

“I made a split-second decision travelling at speed,” Barnett said. “I accept it’s careless and I have a duty of care with all players on the field. If I had my time again I wouldn’t have raised it so high. I wish I could go back and change it.

“I felt horrible in that I not only let down my teammates, I felt horrible about the situation that I’d carelessly raised my arm. I was generally concerned about Chris as well.”

Asked how contact looked when deliberately frozen on a big screen inside the hearing, Barnett said: “My arm doesn’t need to go that high. It doesn’t look good.

“I raised my ‘bumper’ (forearm) and made contact with what I felt was the upperpart of his chest. The ultimate goal was to get around the player to fill that (open defensive) space and not get knocked over. I saw a black jersey outside my peripheral vision.

“I knew there was contact coming so I raised my bumper. I didn’t see him until the last second.”

Mitch Barnett was suspended for six matches by the NRL judiciary. Picture: Richard Dobson

Asked by Ghabar whether contact was high, Barnett responded: “Definitely.”

Ghabar then asked whether contact could have been lower and Barnett again replied: “Definitely.”

“I thought his contact was going to be more forceful but he pulled up. I didn’t feel like I made contact with the jaw but the upper body,” Barnett said.

Gyles said Smith was “completely defenceless” when running through as a decoy.

Gyles also asked Barnett whether Smith ducked and Barnett replied: “No.”

“It was a highly forceful incident and contact was completely unacceptable,” Gyles said.

Ghabar said first contact was with the “top of chest unless player Smith has an extraordinarily long jaw”.

“The player (Barnett) accepts he was careless, there is no issue with that,” Ghabar said.

Ghabar also introduced medical reports into evidence and called for a lenient suspension given Barnett pleaded guilty. Under new judiciary rules, NRL judiciary chairman, Honourable Justice Geoff Bellew, can now provide a casting vote to resolve a deadlock.

Originally published as NRL 2022: Mitch Barnett banned for six matches by NRL judiciary for hit on Chris Smith