- Soccer stars involved in wild tunnel fight
- Jack Hetherington was angry with Reed Mahoney
- Newcastle Knights lost to Canterbury on Sunday
An investigation has been launched after a heated fight between Newcastle star Jack Hetherington and his Canterbury rival Reed Mahoney on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulldogs got a big win at Accor Stadium, but their victory was somewhat overshadowed after the explosive match, as both were sent off after colliding on the field.
Footage appeared to show Hetherington landing a punch straight into Mahoney’s chest as the Bulldogs star walked through the tunnel.
The situation did not worsen further after officials intervened and the governing body is aware of the incident and is expected to investigate.
Bulldogs hooker Mahoney enjoyed a great game and was influential in his team’s victory, but had to spend a spell in the sin-bin in the final overs of the game.
Two soccer stars were involved in an altercation in the tunnel after the game
Jack Hetherington wasn’t happy about being taken off the field by Reed Mahoney.
Then, as he made his way down the tunnel, he was confronted by an angry Hetherington after he emerged from the Knights’ dressing room to confront him.
Hetherington reportedly pushed Mahoney before being separated.
He was offended after Mahoney blatantly fired him after he was ejected from the game.
Newcastle’s NRL woes have been compounded by a fresh injury to star fullback Kalyn Ponga in a weak 36-12 loss to Canterbury.
The Knights were defeated in Sydney on Sunday, with Bulldog Bronson Xerri scoring his first try since 2019 on his return from a four-year drug ban and Ponga adding a possible foot injury to an ongoing hip problem.
The result improved the new-look Bulldogs to 3-4, while the Knights, fifth after the regular season last year, fell to 2-5 after another late pick call failed to cheer them up.
Ponga, who hopes to return to State of Origin contention for Queensland this season, has battled a hip injury this season and was in obvious pain when he returned for the second half.
Hetherington was sacked early in the game and was mocked by the Bulldogs hooker.
He finally limped off for good and donned a moon boot after Bulldogs utility Bailey Hayward ran out of nowhere to hook a hook into the goal under the Newcastle co-captain’s nose.
That made the score 24-6, before Josh Addo-Carr expertly flew in to score in the right corner and seal the match with over 20 minutes remaining.
Newcastle made a late personnel move by demoting five-eighth Jack Cogger to the NSW Cup and bringing Tyson Gamble back into the starting team to partner halfback Jackson Hastings.
However, the change of their fourth halves in seven games (that pair started the season together) was little, the Knights’ kicking game easily outclassed by the boot of Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton.
The pair came to blows when Mahoney was ejected in the final blows of the match.
The left-hander made it 40-20 which led to Jacob Kiraz’s early try, with the Bulldogs disabling every Newcastle kick and the Knights making just three line breaks.
Dylan Lucas scored for Newcastle off Gamble’s flat pass, but Greg Marzhew called from the restart and Xerri, back in the NRL this year after a positive testosterone test in November 2019, had the instant answer.
Key off-season signing Stephen Crichton added some flourish to the occasion when he completed a wonderful team try down the right flank before tempers flared in the final minutes.