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Jack Hetherington has come under fire with his aggressive style of play again landing the Bulldogs enforcer in serious hot water.
Hetherington was sent off in the second-half in Canterbury's loss to the Cowboys after he collected Valentine Holmes around the throat with a swinging arm.
The 55th-minute incident came at a crucial phase of the game, with the 12-man Bulldogs mounting a spirited comeback before ultimately falling short in a 30-18 loss.
The NRL is expected to release the charges sheet from Sunday's matches on Monday morning, with Hetherington's history expected to place him in danger of missing a number of weeks for his last-placed side.
Last year the prop was handed a five-game ban for a high shot that knocked out Sea Eagles prop Marty Taupau, while in total Hetherington has spent 10 weeks on the sidelines relating to six charges across his career from the match review committee.
The numbers are staggering given the 24-year-old's NRL career is only 29 games old.
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett suggested the shot on Holmes wasn't malicious, and because it didn't lead to injury, Hetherington may avoid a lengthy suspension.
"I didn't think it was intentional, he caught him high, but it wasn't an intentional shot from Jack and Val's okay," Barrett said post-game.
"Hopefully we'll be okay."
Speaking on Fox League's Big League Wrap, rugby league great Michael Ennis claimed Hetherington and the Bulldogs need to draw a line in the sand over his wayward aggression on the field.
And Ennis said the shot on Holmes was unacceptable.
"He gave Ashely Klein no other choice to send him off," Ennis said.
"It was lazy, careless and unnecessary but the way he finished off the tackle on Valentine Holmes, he's going to be in some trouble.
"I love the way he plays but he's sailing too close to the wind at the moment and needs to rein it in."
While the send-off initially had the opposite effect, springing the Bulldogs into gear as they scored two successive tries to be within a six-point range of a remarkable comeback in Townsville, the Cowboys just hung on.
After the match, North Queensland coach Todd Payten conceded he wasn't confident his side would've been able to hang on had the Bulldogs had a full team on the field.
Broncos great Corey Parker suggested Hetherington let his teammates down as they came close to claiming their first win of the season.
"Once you start letting your teammates down with just some dumb stuff it really pulls apart what you're trying to build," Parker added on Big League Wrap.
"He was recruited there to have that influence and we loved what we've seen from him, but it's a real fine line."
Meanwhile, the Hetherington incident has sparked debate about what now warrants a send-off.
Comparisons have been drawn between his hit on Holmes and Victor Radley's high shot on Melbourne's Cameron Munster on Friday night, which saw the Roosters lock sin-binned despite committing a similar offence.
Meanwhile, Latrell Mitchell went unnoticed on the field over an alleged kick to the face of the Tigers' Luke Garner, which was later picked up by the match review committee and has the Rabbitohs fullback looking at three weeks on the sidelines.
Commenting on the disparity of punishments, commentator Andrew Voss said during the Cowboys-Bulldogs game the referees seem confused about what constitutes a send-off.
“I don’t think bunker, referee and match-review committee are all on the same page at the moment,” Voss said on Fox League.
“I don’t think we know when there’s a head shot, do you stay on? Are you sin-binned? Or are you sent off? It’s an absolute roll of the dice and pick an option out of the hat.”
Hetherington was sent off in the second-half in Canterbury's loss to the Cowboys after he collected Valentine Holmes around the throat with a swinging arm.
The 55th-minute incident came at a crucial phase of the game, with the 12-man Bulldogs mounting a spirited comeback before ultimately falling short in a 30-18 loss.
The NRL is expected to release the charges sheet from Sunday's matches on Monday morning, with Hetherington's history expected to place him in danger of missing a number of weeks for his last-placed side.
Last year the prop was handed a five-game ban for a high shot that knocked out Sea Eagles prop Marty Taupau, while in total Hetherington has spent 10 weeks on the sidelines relating to six charges across his career from the match review committee.
The numbers are staggering given the 24-year-old's NRL career is only 29 games old.
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett suggested the shot on Holmes wasn't malicious, and because it didn't lead to injury, Hetherington may avoid a lengthy suspension.
"I didn't think it was intentional, he caught him high, but it wasn't an intentional shot from Jack and Val's okay," Barrett said post-game.
"Hopefully we'll be okay."
Speaking on Fox League's Big League Wrap, rugby league great Michael Ennis claimed Hetherington and the Bulldogs need to draw a line in the sand over his wayward aggression on the field.
And Ennis said the shot on Holmes was unacceptable.
"He gave Ashely Klein no other choice to send him off," Ennis said.
"It was lazy, careless and unnecessary but the way he finished off the tackle on Valentine Holmes, he's going to be in some trouble.
"I love the way he plays but he's sailing too close to the wind at the moment and needs to rein it in."
While the send-off initially had the opposite effect, springing the Bulldogs into gear as they scored two successive tries to be within a six-point range of a remarkable comeback in Townsville, the Cowboys just hung on.
After the match, North Queensland coach Todd Payten conceded he wasn't confident his side would've been able to hang on had the Bulldogs had a full team on the field.
Broncos great Corey Parker suggested Hetherington let his teammates down as they came close to claiming their first win of the season.
"Once you start letting your teammates down with just some dumb stuff it really pulls apart what you're trying to build," Parker added on Big League Wrap.
"He was recruited there to have that influence and we loved what we've seen from him, but it's a real fine line."
Meanwhile, the Hetherington incident has sparked debate about what now warrants a send-off.
Comparisons have been drawn between his hit on Holmes and Victor Radley's high shot on Melbourne's Cameron Munster on Friday night, which saw the Roosters lock sin-binned despite committing a similar offence.
Meanwhile, Latrell Mitchell went unnoticed on the field over an alleged kick to the face of the Tigers' Luke Garner, which was later picked up by the match review committee and has the Rabbitohs fullback looking at three weeks on the sidelines.
Commenting on the disparity of punishments, commentator Andrew Voss said during the Cowboys-Bulldogs game the referees seem confused about what constitutes a send-off.
“I don’t think bunker, referee and match-review committee are all on the same page at the moment,” Voss said on Fox League.
“I don’t think we know when there’s a head shot, do you stay on? Are you sin-binned? Or are you sent off? It’s an absolute roll of the dice and pick an option out of the hat.”
