Knights coach bristles after wild face slap lands firebrand prop Jack Hetherington in sin bin

Firebrand Knights front-rower Jack Hetherington was sin-binned for slapping Panthers centre Izack Tago in the face on Saturday night.

And while Tago slapped Hetherington in the face first, albeit with a much lighter clip, the Penrith speedster was not marched from the field.

When Adam O'Brien was pressed on the situation after a 20-12 defeat in Penrith, the Newcastle coach bristled.

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"I could clearly see he got slapped from the ground. That one was hidden, Jack's wasn't — Jack's was pretty blatant," O'Brien said in his press conference.

"It wasn't a smart thing to do by Jack — I think he'd be the first one to admit that.

"But if you're getting 10 minutes for striking in the face, I can clearly see him getting struck from the ground up. It's still a strike to the face."

Tago swiped Hetherington in the face while being tackled late in the first half, prompting a retaliation from the Newcastle prop.

"That's poor discipline there from Jack Hetherington," said former NSW State of Origin hooker Michael Ennis on Fox League.

"The little one for Izack Tago nothing more than a brush, but (Hetherington) lashed out. He's come out to try and be an enforcer, Hetherington, and he's just let his emotions get the better of him there. His discipline has improved, but just then a costly one for the away side tonight."

Hetherington, 27, has a notorious foul play rap sheet.

As a Bulldog in 2021, he was charged a sixth time in 29 NRL games when he coat-hangered North Queensland's Valentine Holmes.

He became the first Bulldog to be sent off in 14 years and was hit with a five-game ban.

The Panthers capitalised on the sin-binning of Hetherington, scoring a try through Jaeman Salmon just before his return to the field.

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Penrith won despite the absence of its State of Origin representatives — Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Brian To'o — as well as the injured Nathan Cleary.

Tago had an exceptional game, racking up 238 run metres and 11 tackle busts.

Reigning Clive Churchill Medallist Dylan Edwards was also superb, crossing for a try, making 10 tackle breaks and tallying a tick under 200 run metres.

Penrith moved into first on the ladder following the victory over Newcastle, but Brisbane will win that spot back if it defeats Gold Coast on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Newcastle is floundering in 14th on the ladder.

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