NRL 2022: Mitch Barnett’s classy apology after being sent off for stray elbow
Mitchell Barnett picked up the phone on Sunday and made one of the toughest calls of his life, just hours after being sent off for a grubby elbow.
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Mitchell Barnett picked up the phone on Sunday and simply said “I am sorry” to Penrith’s Chris Smith.
Barnett’s stray elbow on Saturday saw him become the first Knight to be sent off since Kade Snowden in 2013.
Barnett will face the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night after being referred straight to the panel by the match review committee on Sunday morning.
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By that stage Barnett had tracked down Smith’s number and reached out to apologise for the incident which left the Penrith backrower nursing a sore jaw during the Panthers’ 38-20 win.
The Knights have also hired NRL judiciary veteran Nick Ghabar to lead Barnett’s case.
Barnett had to be comforted by teammates in the dressing sheds on Saturday and showed immediate concern for Smith’s wellbeing.
Smith failed his HIA and the Panthers were awaiting results on his injured jaw.
A grade three dangerous contact results in a three game ban but Barnett now faces at least a month on the sidelines.
Smith was running as a decoy when Barnett collected him in the face with his elbow in the 33rd minute. The bunker intervened for Barnett to become the first person sent off this season. Referee Peter Gough reprimanded the 27-year-old and said he had a “raised forearm” and made “direct contact to the head”. Barnett has worked closely with Newcastle’s welfare officer to try and kerb his ill-discipline.
Andrew Johns – who is part of Newcastle’s coaching staff – acknowledged controlling Barnett’s aggression was an ongoing project.
“He has worked so hard on this part of his game, these impulsive brainsnaps,” Johns said on the Sunday Footy Show. “He has worked so hard to get these out of his game so it’s disappointing.”
Privately, Barnett has told Newcastle officials he tried to push off Smith as he planned to slide towards the sideline in case Penrith made a break out-wide. He made contact with Smith without looking at him but acknowledged his wrongdoing.
The Knights make a point of their players staying on their feet and trying to avoid contact with decoy runners.
Retired international back-rower Luke Lewis understood the position Barnett found himself in defensively.
“It was terrible but I can understand what Barnett was trying to do,” Lewis said on ABC Sport. “He was going across to save a try and push away from Chris Smith. But his elbow came straight up. It was a brain snap.”
Barnett will face a new-look judiciary hearing. The panel members have been reduced to just two.
If a decision is not unanimous judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew will have a casting vote.
Dallas Johnson, Tony Puletua and Bob Linder are among the potential judiciary members.
Barnett’s grubby brain fade makes unwanted history
Newcastle forward Mitch Barnett is facing an extended stint on the sidelines after becoming the first player to be referred straight to the judiciary under the NRL’s new judiciary system.
Melbourne’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona has escaped with just a $1,000 fine and a grade one careless high tackle charge for a high shot on Parramatta’s Makahesi Makatoa.
Asofa-Solomona’s grade one charge for his hit on Makatoa is likely to raise eyebrows considering the NRL’s crackdown on contact with the head and neck.
For Barnett, a first offence grade three striking charge would normally carry a four-week suspension and a three-week ban with an early plea.
But given the severity of Barnett’s brain snap, the 27-year old is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
Knights coach Adam O’Brien refused to ‘kick him publicly’ in the post match press conference.
“I can’t talk about it,” O’Brien said on Saturday.
“It’s going to the judiciary. What Mitch doesn’t need is me coming here and kicking him publicly.
“There is no one feeling any worse than Mitch at the moment. We will deal with it in the sheds. He needs support of his teammates. The angles were hard to see. I haven’t had a good look … I don’t think we would’ve lost too many supporters in terms of our effort.”
Asofa-Solomona also escaped any charge for a cannonball-type tackle on Parramatta’s Junior Paulo in Melbourne’s golden point loss to the Eels.
Gold Coast forward Fotuaika Moeaki was slapped with a $1,000, with an early plea, for a grade once dangerous contact charge on Canberra’s Tom Starling.
The Knights have further judiciary concerns with Chris Randall and Jacob Saifiti played on report for crusher tackles.
They will now be without back-rowers Barnett and Lachlan Fitzgibbon for their clash against Cronulla. while Brodie Jones missed the game because of Covid-19
Skipper Tyson Frizell also picked up a knock which he said “feels fine at the moment.”
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said it was an “unusual” tackle.
“I was worried about (Smith),” Cleary said. Once I saw what happened, and he was holding his jaw. I was very worried. From what I’ve seen of Mitch Barnett it was out of character. I don’t know what happened there.”
Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai said the send off was “well deserved”.
“We have to get it out of game,” Luai said. “I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not.
Meanwhile, Kurt Mann protested his removal from the game because of a HIA in the first half. The bunker intervened to instruct Mann from the field.
“They were looking at the wrong head,” Mann said. “I got kicked in the b-lls.”
Match report: Panthers pounce after brain fade
Martin Gabor
Penrith’s lethal left edge has them purring ahead of next week’s Grand Final rematch after Newcastle’s quest for a third-straight win was derailed by a shocking moment of madness by Mitch Barnett.
The Bathurst locals were gearing up for a Saturday afternoon classic when Newcastle led late in the first half, but it became one-way traffic once Barnett was marched for a nasty elbow off the ball.
The 38-20 win has Penrith unbeaten heading into Friday’s blockbuster against the Bunnies, and they can thank their ridiculous assembly line for helping them slay the Knights.
You would think losing a guy like Brian To’o would be too much given they are also without Nathan Cleary, James Fisher-Harris and Liam Martin.
But what might be an excuse for one team is simply an opportunity for the Panthers. In his second NRL game, Taylan May scored three tries as he and fellow young gun Izack Tago had a field day on the left edge.
“They’re really good mates,” Ivan Cleary said, revealing the relocation up north last year helped them gel. “They spent the whole time up in Queensland training together and doing everything together. They definitely have a good connection.”
May grabbed the first points of the afternoon when he pounced on a Jarome Luai grubber and then had his centre to thank when Tago put a lovely move on Dane Gagai and then toed it ahead for his winger to cross in the corner.
Tago wasn’t going to be outdone and grabbed a second-half double of his own to continue his hot start to 2022 as Matt Burton’s replacement before the pair combined once more to complete May’s hat-trick at the death.
BARNETT’S BRAIN SNAP
Mitch Barnett is the first player sent off in the NRL this season after a shocking elbow off the ball into the throat of Penrith’s Chris Smith.
Smith was a decoy as Penrith shifted to the right and was just standing in the line when Barnett raised an elbow and hit him high.
It wasn’t clear what happened as Smith stayed down, but replays confirmed the ugly shot that will see him hit hard by the match review committee when the charges drop on Sunday.
“That is nasty. What an absolute brain explosion by Mitch Barnett. That’s as cheap as it gets,” Warren Smith said in commentary after Barnett became the first Knight to be sent off since Kade Snowden in 2013.
The Knights were up 6-4 at the time and had a chance to take it to the premiers as they eyed off a 3-0 start to the year. But a win was never possible after that, and now Barnett will have a long, long time to think about his actions.
“I don’t know how to explain that one,” Cleary said. “It was out of character.”
To their credit, Newcastle never gave up. But bravery is very small consolation for coach Adam O’Brien when they had every chance to win.
“I don’t think we would have lost too many supporters in terms of our effort,” he said.
BUNKER’S LOW BLOW
The independent doctor in the Bunker is going to be a great help this season when it comes to protecting players from potentially dangerous situations.
But there were farcical scenes on Saturday when Knights utility Kurt Mann was forced to come off for an HIA after the Bunker got involved.
Problem was, Mann wasn’t hit in the head. It wasn’t even close. He got whacked down low while making a tackle in a blow that would bring a tear to any man’s eye.
It was an embarrassing error and one the Knights will want clarity over, especially when they were the victims of another contentious decision when the Bunker gave the green light for Tago’s second try even though Jarome Luai was offside.
“I think it was clear to see the area that was affected,” O’Brien said.
SCARY STAT FOR DEFENDING PREMIERS
-Michael Carayannis
Just three weeks into their premiership defence, Penrith will field just eight players from their premiership-winning outfit when they face Newcastle in Bathurst on Saturday. Not since the Wests Tigers in 2006 have the reigning premiers been left so depleted so early the following season.
The likes of Paul Momirovski, Matt Burton, Kurt Capewell and Tyrone May were still Panthers three matches ago.
The quartet have joined other clubs while fellow premiership winners Nathan Cleary, Brian To’o, James Fisher-Harris, Liam Martin and Moses Leota will miss Saturday’s clash against Newcastle because of injury.
Penrith’s first premiership winning skipper turned board member Greg Alexander said the club’s playing stocks were being put to the test.
“There are already clubs sprinkled throughout the competition where their depth has been tested early in the season,” Alexander said. “Whether that be because of departing players, suspensions, injuries or Covid. You’re battling on four fronts to keep your team on the field. With those that have left and those that are injured it’s a good test for the players coming into the side.
“Being defending premiers brings a certain amount of pressure. I don’t think teams approached Penrith last year with any less intensity because of what they had already done the year before.
“While they weren’t defending premiers last year what they did through the regular season and to make the grand final made them a side that was under notice from the rest of the competition.”
The likes of Charlie Staines and Mitch Kenny watched on as their teammates celebrated premiership success last season. They have stepped up into the top 17 this year while Taylan May gets his chance on the flank in place of the injured To’o.
New recruit Sean O’Sullivan has impressed in Cleary’s absence. With Cleary expected back next week, O’Sullivan may only get one more crack in the top grade before the Origin period.
“I’m not surprised that Sean has played the way he has,” Alexander said. “He is a very good footballer with a good football brain.
“The little requirements that a halfback needs especially in set plays he has. He runs that line to engage the inside defenders and has a very good kicking game. He has slotted in seamlessly.”
They face fellow undefeated side Newcastle in Bathurst. The Knights have dealt with their own injury woes with the likes of David Klemmer, Daniel Saifiti Kalyn Ponga, Jayden Brailey and Lachlan Fitzgibbon sidelined in recent weeks.
Alexander has been impressed by Newcastle’s first up wins against the Roosters and the Tigers.
“I wasn’t sure how they would go,” Alexander said. “There were a few question marks but everything has been positive so far.”
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Originally published as NRL 2022: Mitch Barnett’s classy apology after being sent off for stray elbow
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