Jack Hetherington finds himself in the sin bin once again for yet another slapping incident, this time involving Tigers five-eighth Will Smith. The Newcastle Knights prop was not pleased by a high tackle from Smith in the 42nd minute and resorted to slapping him. Despite being sin-binned, Hetherington’s team emerged victorious with a scoreline of 34-18. This is not the first time Hetherington has committed such an offense, as he was previously sin-binned for a similar incident involving Izack Tago. Renowned Knights legend Andrew Johns condemned Hetherington’s poor discipline, a sentiment echoed by Brad Fittler, coach of the NSW Blues. Fittler expressed his disappointment in Hetherington’s actions, stating that his hot-headedness has been the cause of his changes in clubs. Andrew Johns, however, was surprised by the severity of the punishment, going as far as to say that he would somersault home if Hetherington received a sin-binning for that particular offense. Referee Peter Gough can be seen sin-binning Hetherington in the footage of the incident. Post-game, Paul Gallen described Hetherington as a frustrating player. Gallen highlighted the increasing severity of such actions in recent years, recalling that during his own playing days, open-hand slaps were treated as punches and resulted in sin-binning. Gallen emphasized the need for Hetherington to channel his frustrations in a more appropriate manner. Turning to the game itself, the Knights dominated the Tigers’ right edge early on, with Greg Marzhew and Bradman Best scoring within the first six minutes. Dominic Young added to the Knights’ tally shortly after on the other side, but Kalyn Ponga struggled with his kicking, missing all three attempts. The Tigers managed to close the gap with Jahream Bula scoring and reducing the deficit to 18-6 after 30 minutes. In the final moments of the first half, the Tigers cut the lead to just six points through Apisai Koroisau capitalizing on mistakes from Ponga and Tyson Gamble. Hetherington’s sin-binning early in the second half did not seem to faze the Knights, as Ponga scored soon after. Bula scored his second try following an Isaiah Papali’i linebreak with Hetherington still off the field, making it 22-16. However, the Knights stepped up their game, with Young scoring his second try and Gamble sealing the victory with a try in the 73rd minute. The Tigers will face the Dragons at Wollongong next Thursday, while the Knights will take on the Storm in their next match. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for the latest breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports. Check out the colorful images from State of Origin III 2023 between the Blues and Maroons.
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
