For the first time since being involved in a tunnel altercation with Reed Mahoney, Jack Hetherington has spoken out about the incident.
Sin-binned from the field, the Knights forward decided to wait in the tunnel at Accor Stadium for the Bulldogs hooker.
Then, when the two came face-to-face, they had a push-and-pull before being separated by Bulldogs club officials - no punches were thrown between the duo.
Hetherington off the rails...#nrlbulldogsknights pic.twitter.com/8BKTv41mxf
— Big Dog 1935 (@CBB1934) April 21, 2024
Suspended from this week's game against The Dolphins, Hetherington surprisingly admitted that he was never "serious about fighting him".
“I was not being serious about fighting him … but it was stupid,” Hetherington told The Daily Telegraph.
“If I had my time again, I would not have done it. They could have made an example of me even if it was lighthearted.
Charged by the Match Review Committee (MRC), he was slapped with a Grade 2 Contract Conduct Charge before taking the early guilty plea to only miss a single match.
On the other hand, Mahonry only had to pay a $1000 fine after facing a Grade 1 Contrary Conduct Charge and would not miss any matches.
“I was actually expecting to get a bit longer than a week," he added.
“I'm a bit over people holding stuff over my head from when I was a young player.
“I'm 28 now and I've matured a lot. I've now got three young kids. I spend my weekends at home. I rarely go out. I'm a family man. I want to be known as a footballer, not a hothead.”
