In this episode of Life After Origin, we catch up with FOG#106, Jason Hetherington, for an enlightening and entertaining chat about his career and life after rugby league.
The “Bushy from Baralaba” lived up to his reputation as a dry and at times deadpan character, speaking openly about a number of topics, including his own rugby league journey, his twin sons, Kobe and Zac, and the emergence of women in the game.
He also reveals how his career almost ended before it started after his jaw was badly shattered by a wild elbow in a country game just before his 21st birthday.
Hetherington pulled on his first Queensland jumper when he was 11.
After that experience as a young boy, all he wanted to do was play Origin for Queensland.
Hetherington loves to anyone who asks that he hails from the Queensland country town of Baralaba — that’s B-A-R-A-L-A-B-A – as he spells it out in his deep country drawl.
He got his break in the big smoke in 1993 thanks mainly to Wally Lewis who at the time was head coach of the struggling Gold Coast Seagulls.
All up, he played 118 games for the Bulldogs, 40 for the London Broncos, eight for Queensland — winning man-of-the-match in game one in 1999 — and two games for Australia.
His first, and only season under Lewis, was ugly, but he loved it.
“You won’t get a better example of that old saying; ‘you can take the boy out of the bush, but you can’t take the bush out of the boy’,” laughs Lewis when he recounts his first meeting with Hetherington after he came down from Baralaba.
“Honestly, I couldn’t stop laughing, that’s just the way he was naturally.
“He was drier than a dead dingo’s donger (bush vernacular) and he hasn’t changed one bit.
“He’s a fantastic bloke and a great fella.”
Lewis said at the end of his first season with the Seagulls, Hetherington approached him and said: “I’ve had an offer, and it is a pretty good offer, from the Bulldogs, what do you think I should do?’.”
“My immediate response was: ‘Take the offer’,” said Lewis.
During our chat, Hetherington recalled the story of how he almost passed out driving himself about 180kms holding his badly broken jaw together to Rockhampton hospital and how his mother had to transfer money to his bank account to help him complete his journey to Sydney to play for the Bulldogs.
He talks about how conditioning guru; Billy Johnstone transformed him into a top class player at the ‘Dogs and related funny tales of how he once moved nine tonnes of bricks in a wheelbarrow all by himself and about a secret he says, with a smirk, he has kept from his twin sons for 24 years.
Q: Wally Lewis recruited you to the Gold Coast in 1993. You started off your rugby league journey with 15 straight losses, that has to be the worst start to a career in history.
Hetherington: I made the Queensland Residents who toured Fiji and New Zealand under CQ coach Ross O’Reilly who showed a lot of faith in me. We played the New Zealand Moaris. I played five-eight then and had a really good game. I got a few offers but when the King, who was one of my heroes, called and asked me to go to his club, well, you I can’t say no. It wasn’t a great start to my career. Nobody likes losing but I was in the company of Wally and Peter Gill and Rowdy Shearer. You never like to lose, but to be in that kind of company and playing against blokes like Brett Kenny and Terry Lamb and the like, it was like a dream come true and it happened so quickly.
Q: You started out as a five-eighth with the Gold Coast but you switched to the Bulldogs after just one season, how did Wally take the news you were leaving?
Hetherington: That’s another story. I was playing Penrith and marking Steve Carter and I got player of the match in a losing Gold Coast side. Gene Miles (former international and current FOGS CEO) was doing radio commentary back in those days and I later found out he had called Bullfrog (legendary Canterbury boss Peter Moore) and told him that if Terry Lamb was retiring, he had a bloke with a similar stature to replace him. Now I couldn’t even do up Baa’s (Lamb’s) shoelaces in in ability, but we were similar in the way we played and approached games.
A lot of different opportunities were coming my way so I rang Wally and he had me over to his house for dinner. We sat down for a few hours and went through all the clubs and their offers and in the end, he said the Bulldogs suited me best.
Q: The move to the Bulldogs was a masterstroke in hindsight. You played in back-to-back grand finals, losing to Canberra in 1994 and then winning the following year beating Manly.
Hetherington: There was a funny story about that move too. After finishing up at the Gold Coast I jumped into my old wagon and started driving down to Sydney. In those days you only got paid twice a season, so I remember pulling into the Gold Coast on my way down to withdraw some money from my second player payment which was only $174. It got me a room at the Zebra Motel at Coffs Harbour and then the money ran out. I had to ring up me Mum and she had to drive an hour up the highway to transfer some money to the bank which took a few days to come through (clear) so I could make it the rest of the way to Sydney..
Q: Surely you were on more than $350 a season with the Gold Coast?
Hetherington: Nah, I was only on win bonuses and I never won a game!!.
Q: You are considered a pretty dry character. How did you handle coming from the bush town to the big smoke?
Hetherington: I left school when I was 12 and went to boarding school. You kinda harden up pretty quickly. I played Australia rugby union Under 17s so when I left Rockhampton, I pursued that first. When I got down to Brisbane I played (rugby) with Michael Lynagh and Peter Slattery for Uni when the late Bob Templeton was the forwards coach. When I went to Sydney (to play for the Bulldogs) it was a big shock. I remember trying to drive around Sydney, it was huge. I kept ending up in the wrong street or dead ends. I used to drive with the Refidex (remember them) open on my lap. I don’t how many times the police tapped on my car window and asked me: “What the hell are you doing?.”
Q: So what was the story behind you driving yourself from Biloela to Rockhampton with a broken jaw?
Hetherington: I was playing a game of league (under a false name) with my brother Mark for the Moura Tigers. I copped an elbow in the face, a bit like the one Les Boyd got Darryl Brohman with in an Origin game. I remember after the game I jumped in the little Datsun 120Y and drove myself to the emergency section at Rockhampton hospital.
I was bleeding profusely and holding my jaw together while trying to change gears on those bumpy country roads. It happened four days before my 21st birthday. I had my face reconstructed and spent my 21st birthday in hospital. Mum bought me a blender. I remember I almost gave it (playing) away. But I went back and played for the Ipswich Jets which I think is Wally saw me. I reckon all up I had about 16 operations; eight knee ops, four shoulder recos, two groin surgeries and my jaw and teeth reset.
Q: You won premierships, and Origins, wore the green and gold, and made some lifetime friendships. Who were some of the people who helped you and influenced you in those formative years?
Hetherington: The King obviously. He helped me from the start of my career on what to do and where to go and he is still a great mate. Of course my parents before that. At Canterbury, a guy named Billy Johnstone (another bushy from Cunnamulla). He is still a lifelong friend. He helped me and so many other players like me reach their full potential. Billy took over the conditioning side of things when Steve Folkes moved on. Billy worked you hard, so you could either wave the white flag or grit up and do it. I had to learn to train with that intensity, you had to teach yourself to do it. Billy was a really good fella, he was instrumental in me switching to hooker. The thing about Billy was, he would never ask a player to do something he couldn’t do himself. He was incredibly well-respected throughout the game.
Q: Your thoughts on the women’s game? You had a bit to do as coach of the Queensland women’s Origin side a few years ago, How was that and what did you think of the standard?
Hetherington: It’s probably happening a lot quicker than I thought it would, to be honest. They already have a lot of the skills because of the cross-over from touch football and rugby union and Sevens. The women are able to follow game plans really well and they understand the game and their roles. They aren’t over-coached so you see a lot of draw and pass and free-flowing football from the girls. They certainly hook in and get stuck into it and you see some very hard tackles and referees reward the dominant tackles which is good.
Q: I have to ask you about your son Kobe. He was Brisbane’s rookie of the year 2021 and he played his first finals game at the weekend. It’s always tough for kids whose fathers played at the highest level. Do you give him much advice?
Hetherington: I let Kev (Brisbane coach Kevin Walters) and the coaching staff look after that, that’s their go. He still leans on me and I’d be disappointed if he didn’t. I’m more about him looking after himself, and doing things right, that’s more the father figure. Football-wise, that’s not my department, They’ve got coaches and I let them do that. If he asks for feedback on a game I’ll give it to him but I am just a proud dad watching his son play. I am happy for him. I am proud of all my four kids. His twin brother, Zac is cutting his teeth in the Bulldogs system at the moment just waiting for his opportunity. Zac is the younger twin by 23 minutes but like Kobe he is a great kid. I’ve always said to my kids when you get an opportunity and people want a bit of your time; five minutes out of your life to make someone else happy for the rest of theirs, is not a big sacrifice, and always be humble. I tell Kobe to cherish the moments now because they go so fast, in the blink of an eye your career is over; it’s fish and chip wrapping paper. I reflect back and wonder if I fully enjoyed those special moments when I played, it all goes that damn quick.
Q: What was it like watching Kobe play his first finals game, and who went to Brisbane from the family?
Hetherington: It was a bloody pearler of a night. My wife, Kim and Kobe’s little brother, Eli, went to the game. It was unreal. I felt, proud, anxious and emotional. Finals and Origin are the times you miss playing footy and you wish you were back on the field. It’s such a special time. I thought Kobe went really well.. he did his job. We’ll be back down in a fortnight and hopefully off to Sydney for the big one after that.
Q: Your twin boys were born in Sydney; did you deliberately move back home to make sure they qualified to play Origin for Queensland?
Hetherington: They were both born in Sydney, but I haven’t told them that yet. That’s been a secret for 24 years (laughing). But seriously, I played for Queensland so I think the father-son rule would automatically apply to them. I think Kobe has signed something to that effect.
Q: The NRL in its wisdom is sending 4 teams to Las Vegas for two round one games next year. How would that have gone down in your era and who would have enjoyed it most?
Hetherington: I think we all would have loved that. Part of the game when I played was enjoying each other’s company and it is still a very important part of the game today. It’s not just about football, it’s about building strong bonds and mateships within the group. In rugby league, you have to stick together and enjoy the fun times together. You make lifelong friends and the best part about rugby league is you know there is always going to be a reunion at some point. When we do get together we know what eras blokes played by asking them: “How many teeth have you got?” — If they say three teeth, they played in the 70’s, if they say eight they played in the 80’s and they say they’ve got all their teeth, then they are modern-day players.
Q: How do you reckon Alfie (Allan Langer) would go in Vegas if he goes over with the Brisbane Broncos?
Hetherington: He’s already been there (part of the Queensland team that played an Origin exhibition game at Long Beach, California in 1987) and I wonder if they’d let him back in? He might still have a big red X beside his name. He won a bodybuilding competition (he actually finished third much to the chagrin of the other entrants) over there on that trip. We all like to have a good time, that’s why we play to enjoy the good times because there are a lot of tough times you have to ride out.
Q: Just finally Jason, what is the story behind your nickname “Dalton”?
Hetherington: Sh*t, you can’t print that (laughing). Let’s say it has something to do with a couple of mates of mine who reckoned they couldn’t tell me and my Staffi dog Dalton apart. I’ll tell you this story instead. Before I went full-time, I was a brickie’s labourer down in Sydney. We were always doing Granny flats and this day a truck dropped nine tonnes of bricks on the footpath on the site on Friday afternoon. The Council came along and told me they had to be gone (off the footpath by Saturday) or I’d be in trouble. I got up at 3 a.m. on Saturday morning and I put 66 bricks to a barrow and barrowed them all down the side of the houses. I moved nine tonne of bricks on my own and then, at 3 p.m. that afternoon, I played a game for the Bulldogs against St George at Kogarah Oval.
Can you imagine that happening today?
