BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Several years ago, your writer was sitting underneath some scaffolding in the middle of winter at a freezing cold Aubrey Keech Reserve in Hinchinbrook. It was a NSW Cup game between the impressive home team, Mounties, and some poor schmucks, ready for a warm shower and a bus back out of the place.

After a first half of fireworks, I took off my headphones and elbowed my colour commentator in the shoulder.

“Gun” I pointed at a young bloke called Mitchell Barnett.

The colour commentator, Lewis Shepperd from the Fifth and Last podcast, giggled before replying, “He’s also mad”.

From then on, Barnett became a cult hero to The81stMinute Commentary Team and those brave bastards that ventured out to Hinchinbrook to watch the Mounties play every second Saturday.

Him and his little mate Clay Priest.

Despite being raw and occasionally vicious, Barnett was also a very good prospect who could run a good line, find the try-line, pass, kick and lead a group of men.

He was always playing first grade.

The question was, how much further could he go after that?

You couldn’t doubt his growing CV.

In 2015, he won the NSW Cup Player of the Year award and represented the Blues against Queensland Residents in a State of Origin curtain raiser at ANZ Stadium.

Seeking more time in the NRL, the Taree-native was released from his deal at Canberra to join the Newcastle Knights. Within the space of three seasons, the enforcer nabbed two Danny Buderus Medals for the club’s best player in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Back in 2018, the Canberra Raiders announced their greatest ever Under 20’s team. It featured the likes of Josh Dugan, Anthony Milford, Jack Wighton, Jarrod Croker, Joel Thompson, Josh Papali’i, Tevita Pangai Junior and Nick Cotric.

Oh… and Barnett.

Those that play like Barnett in the NRL these days also walk the finest of lines.

It’s this line, that created him, that also holds him back.

On the weekend, with his Knights slugging it out against the defending premiers in Bathurst, Barnett got himself sent-off for a late, high, unprovoked elbow on a defenceless Penrith Panthers player.

It was dumb.

Really dumb.

In covering defence, Barnett crossed paths with Panther Chris Smith.

We all missed it the first time around. On replay, it was quite evident, Barnett had to be sent from the field.

“The point I want to get across is there is a difference between being deliberate and being careless, and I accept the punishment for careless, but there is no way I went out there to deliberately assault someone,” Barnett told The Daily Telegraph this week.

Deliberate and careless…

What’s the difference to Average Joe in the street?

The difference between deliberate and careless shrinks for those like Barnett.

Barnett’s career has been littered with judiciary appearances and a fair share of controversy.

In September of last year, Barnett was embroiled in a racism row with Indigenous Gold Coast Titans utility Tyrone Peachey and was forced to defend himself.

The NRL sat down with Barnett and Peachey after the incident.

“I don’t want to be known for this and this won’t define me or my reputation,” Barnett said after the game.

“I just want people to hear my side of the story. I know word for word what I said. It wasn’t anything racial.

“I used a couple of swear words. An ‘F’ and a ‘C’ but I never said anything racist. I can’t tell you what he has misinterpreted.”

Every club needs a player that can play on the edge of chaos but their star tends to burn out the quickest when organisations are looking at salary cap management and who they can afford to keep in the team and who they can’t.

@woodward_curtis