Opinion
Following his wild forearm to the head of Chris Smith in the Knights’ 38-20 loss to the Panthers on Saturday, I wonder if Mitch Barnett’s time in the Hunter is drawing to a close.
Barnett’s actions in the 33rd minute of the game in Bathurst saw him sent from the field, the first Knights player to receive their marching orders since Kade Snowden in 2013, in an act that cost his side – who were winning at the time – any hope they had of securing a rare win over the premiers.
I just don’t know the words to describe Barnett’s actions. Stupid is obviously one but that doesn’t do justice to the sheer thugishness of the incident.
It baffles my mind that people are trying to argue it was unintentional, with Newcastle Herald reporter Robert Dillon writing, “it appeared to me to be a high-speed accident, rather than an intentional or malicious act.”
With respect to a man who’s been in this game a lot longer than I have, Robert, no way.
Barnett sees the man coming and makes a decision to hit him with the kind of cheap shot that should result in a huge stint on the sidelines – and, having been referred directly to the judiciary, that’s where Barnett will surely spend his immediate future.
Speculation has him cooling his heels anywhere from a fortnight to eight weeks and I’d say the upper end of that is what’s deserved.
Because while all players are starting this year with a clean sheet at the judiciary, the act of intentionally attacking an opposing player’s head needs to be dealt with in the harshest terms.
This leaves the Knights down a player at a time they were already missing prop David Klemmer and backrower Lachlan Fitzgibbon – two holes coach Adam O’Brien had relied on Barnett to fill in the opening weeks of the comp.
Which means on top of doing the dog act of smashing an unsuspecting opponent with a horrible shot, he’s also massively let down his teammates both for that game and a number to come.
O’Brien was diplomatic when discussing the incident after the match, calling Barnett “part of our family”.
“I tell you what Mitch doesn’t need is me coming out and kicking him publicly,” said O’Brien.
“He’s part of our family and we’ll deal with it behind closed doors. There’s no one feeling any worse than Mitch.
“We’ll just deal with it during the week.”
You’ll notice the part about kicking him publicly. Great man management.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not going to kick Barnett in private.
And that leaves me wondering whether Barnett has a long-term future at the Knights.
A local junior from Wingham, Barnett made his first-grade debut for the Raiders but only managed two games for them before making a mid-season move back home in 2016.
It was an absolute stinker of a season, the red and blue managing just one win all year, but Barnett was one of few shining lights.
He wasn’t the biggest bloke and had the odd error in him, but he never took a backward step, showing aggression and fearlessness that saw him earn cult status among fans.
Rep footy wasn’t on the cards but then that’s the case for most players. Besides, a guy like Bill Peden never played a rep game and is still one of the most loved and respected players in Knights history.
Honest toilers who live up to the club motto of ‘be the player others want to play with’ are the foundations of Newcastle and Barnett was shaping as another in that mould, twice winning the Danny Buderus Medal as the club’s player of the year, and even being named in a five-man leadership group last season.
The thing was, his aggression wasn’t always harnessed. Along with the aforementioned errors, he also had a brain snap in him and if he walked a fine line, he spent more than his fair share of time on the wrong side of it.
In rugby league parlance, he’s always been a bit of a grub. Thing is, when the Knights were a young side getting dominated week after week, it was kind of nice to have a grub in the team. Someone who stood up and gave as good as he got, even if it meant conceding the odd penalty.
But the Knights don’t need that anymore. Their pack is absolutely stacked, with Origin-calibre players in Daniel Saifiti, Tyson Frizell and Klemmer, while the young brigade of up-and-comers includes talents such as Brodie Jones, Jirah Momoisea and Leo Thompson. They can dominate the old-fashioned way, which is running and tackling harder you’re your opposition, rather than the old-school way, which is hitting blokes high and late.
Or completely off the ball.
Ultimately, Barnett has still got almost two years to run on his deal and I doubt any club is bashing down the door to get him out early after his shenanigans on the weekend.
But if he’s going to extend past the end of 2023, Mitch Barnett needs to show that he’s completely changed his attitude.
Because he’s not the player anyone wants to play with at the moment – how can he be, he’s going to be on the sidelines.
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