NRL 2024: Pests will think twice now after Jack Hetherington-Reed Mahoney sin bin uproar | Bulldog’s Bite
Cheeky pests have hidden behind the NRL’s ‘punch-and-you’re-off’ edict for the past decade – but not anymore, after Jack Hetherington finally draw a line in the sand, writes DEAN RITCHIE.
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It took a rugby league loose cannon to finally draw a stern line in the sand when it comes to on-field smart arses.
If you want to be a cheeky pest and sledge a bigger rival, then expect some consequences.
After more than a decade of hiding behind a new rule, mouthy NRL players – usually small, lippy stars – have finally been fronted, menacingly, about their behaviour.
And I could hear former gruff props from around the rugby league world saying: ‘Good on ya, son’.
Newcastle’s Jack Hetherington caused uproar over the weekend when he waited for Canterbury’s Reed Mahoney in the tunnel after both were sin-binned.
Hetherington struck a rattled Mahoney.
The mandatory sin bin rule for punching was introduced in 2013 after NSW’s Paul Gallen famously stuck a left hand on the chin of Queensland’s Nate Myles.
From that day forward, little blokes have taken cover behind the rule.
The mandate gave new cockiness to chirping players who knew full-well they could mouth off and taunt bigger and tougher rivals without copping an old-fashioned whack in the chops.
Those that antagonised were protected by the NRL rule manual.
Big blokes hated being sledged but had to muster enough inner-strength to remain disciplined.
Until Hetherington on Sunday.
After being verballed on-field by Mahoney, who is known for shooting off his mouth, Hetherington did what big forwards have wanted to do for more than a decade.
He got square in the tunnel.
Maybe the player who wants to provoke a rival – and Mahoney isn’t alone – won’t be so tough anymore.
You’re essentially on your own in the tunnel – one-out, vulnerable and suddenly going silent when there’s a big bloke waiting and shaping up.
Hetherington is loose, as his record shows, but he made a stance.
I’m not condoning punching but Hetherington clearly had enough and took the law into his own hands.
Suddenly the little bloke – Mahoney in this instance – had nowhere to hide.
You could almost see the whites of Mahoney’s eyes when Hetherington came at him.
Mahoney has a history of upsetting and unsettling opponents. He is often third-man in but the crackdown on this tackle seems to have faded.
Hetherington’s was a punch for all big blokes who have been heckled to privately celebrate.
Mahoney waved and smiled at Hetherington when the Knights forward was sin-binned. He won’t do that again.
Hetherington was ultimately suspended for one game, which was fair, but he created a new boundary in rugby league.
He put all smart alecs on notice.
If you want to mouth off then expect some post-game repercussions. Let’s see how loudmouthed the sledgers are now.
DOG BITES
Buzz Rothfield, you’ve got it wrong.
Our esteemed sports editor-at-large wrote in his Sunday Telegraph column that NSW coach Michael Maguire shouldn’t consider selecting Sydney Roosters star Joseph Suaalii because he is defecting to rugby union from next season.
Who cares?
Maguire has one just assignment – to win. He cannot be concerned about whether a player he picks will join a rival code next season or play for Timbuktu.
Would New Zealand overlook Joey Manu because he is heading to Japanese rugby? I doubt it.
I’m not suggesting Suaalii should be first chosen but his chances of selection shouldn’t be determined by what he is doing next year.
If Suaalii is the best option in his position, then pick him. Let’s worry about 2025 in 2025.
*****
Which two players were allegedly involved in a training scuffle last week? One player isn’t adverse to headlines. And which star halfback has been linked to the Warriors in preparation for the day Shaun Johnson retires?
*****
There was an odd friendship on show at Randwick races last Saturday. There was a big-name footy player, who has been in the headlines recently, hanging around one of the racing’s best known horse trainers. There was nothing sinister going on but it just was an unusual connection.
*****
Melbourne won’t say anything publicly but privately the club was filthy at a penalty against Nelson Asofa-Solomona last Thursday night for simply tackling around the legs.
In the 48th minute, Asofa-Solomona was pinned by referee Ashley Klein, who was subsequently “rested” by the NRL for this weekend, for what was thought to be a third man diving tackle on Roosters winger Daniel Tupou.
It was a gross over-exaggeration. It was a text book around-the-legs tackle. Asofa-Solomona wasn’t charged by the NRL match review committee.
*****
Balmain legends Ben Elias, Steve Roach, Garry Jack and Paul Sironen and Wayne Pearce were pallbearers at Keith Barnes’ funeral at Macquarie Park on Tuesday.
Mourners included entire Wests Tigers squad along with former players and officials Chris Johns, Shane Richardson, John Quayle, David Brooks, Allan Fitzgibbon and esteemed journalist Ray Chesterton.
*****
Two brawls broke out in country footy over the weekend, one where a game was abandoned with 20 minutes remaining. They were ugly scenes.
*****
Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga had kicked 19 goals from 19 attempts this year – a remarkable effort.
The overall record for most successive goals belongs to ex-Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri, who landed 35 successive goals in 2003.
Ponga is unavailable indefinitely through injury so any crack at the record will need to be put on hold.
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Originally published as NRL 2024: Pests will think twice now after Jack Hetherington-Reed Mahoney sin bin uproar | Bulldog’s Bite
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