Jack Hetherington is paying a hefty price for his poor disciplinary record, accepting a five-match ban for a tackle that otherwise would have cost him three weeks on the sidelines.

On Tuesday the Canterbury enforcer pleaded guilty to a grade-three, careless high tackle charge, the highest level available without referring a player straight to the judiciary.

The resulting suspension is his sixth ban in a 29-game NRL career. He has already missed 10 matches through bans alone.

By the time Hetherington is eligible to return — in round 12 against his former club Penrith — the 24-year-old will have bans tallying more than half of the number of NRL games he has played.

The high shot on the Cowboys’ Valentine Holmes on Sunday also gave the 24-year-old unfortunate notoriety as the first player to be sent off in an NRL match this season.

With his past record including two careless high tackle charges, his demerit points for the hit were increased by 120 per cent.

In taking the early guilty plea, Hetherington has saved himself a potential sixth match on the sidelines for a failed challenge at the judiciary on Tuesday night.

He will miss the games against Cronulla, Parramatta, St George Illawarra, Canberra and Gold Coast for the winless Bulldogs.



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