Trent Barrett defends Jack Hetherington after sin-binning

Brendan Bradford

Trent Barrett defends Jack Hetherington after sin-binning image

Disappointed Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett says Jack Hetherington may be a victim of his own reputation after the forward was sin-binned in Canterbury-Bankstown's 28-16 defeat to the Tigers on Sunday. 

Hetherington was marched in the 75th minute for a high shot on Alex Twal as the Bulldogs defended their line. 

It was a borderline call, but Hetherington is no stranger to sin bins and send offs and played no further part in the game. 

Speaking afterwards, Barrett said he disagreed with the call. 

"I didn't think there was too much in that one," he said. 

"He's been put on report about six times for no charges, so that probably answers the question.

"It's something we've got to address. You can't tackle high, but I didn't think it was deserved of the 10 minutes." 

It wasn't the only time Hetherington was reprimanded by the men in the middle. 

The front-rower was penalised and given a talking-to earlier on in the second half after he threw Luciano Leilua to the ground off the ball. 

The incident happened with the Bulldogs on attack and desperate to get back into the contest. 

It speaks to a wider level of ill-discipline, says Barrett. 

"I thought our own individual errors and our ill-discipline really hurt us," he said. 

"Even in the second half, we had our chances to still win the game.

"Again, it's something that the players as individuals have got to learn - you can't win football games making those errors and having individuals make ill-disciplined decisions.

"It puts us under too much pressure and you need the ball to win, and we didn't have it." 

Anchored to the bottom of the table with just two wins for the year, Bulldogs fans are already looking ahead to next season, when Barrett welcomes a host of fresh talent. 

Although this season is a write-off, the coach is still looking for upsides. 

"We all want to be winning, but it's about improving," he said. 

"There were moments in that game where I thought we scored some really good tries.

"Some of our defence - they throw a fair bit at you, the Tigers - but defensively we were good. 

"We let ourselves down on last plays, and we've had trouble all year defending last plays and also icing our own last plays when we've got the ball. 

"That's an area of concern for us, but the errors we're making are schoolboy errors. Whether it's concentration - or lack of - or the ill-discipline ones, they're the things we can control.

"That's the stuff that annoys me. We're not making teams earn much because we're handing them possession." 

 

Brendan Bradford