Mitch Barnett will not play six matches for the Newcastle Knights as decided by the NRL judiciary.

He has been punished over a controversial sent-off in his side’s loss to the Panthers in Bathurst on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

Following the match, Barnett deliberately tried to injure Penrith forward Chris Smith.

The Knight forward was referred to the judiciary on a dangerous contact charge. He has been pleaded guilty on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

After the decision, Barnett has said: “The point I want to get across is there is a difference between being deliberate and being careless,”

“I accept the punishment for careless, but there is no way I went out there to deliberately assault someone,”

In his defense, Barnett also says that he had seen Smith late and put out a “bumper” to protect himself from getting injured.

The  Knights forward will be missing his side’s round-four match against South Sydney. He will be absent in the scenes until the tenth round.

Mitch Barnett had used a powerful and reckless elbow over Chris Smith in Newcastle’s 38-20 loss to Penrith in Round 3.

If we check out the foul video, we can clearly see Barnett hitting Smith hard on his head in the 33rd minute of the game.

The match official, Peter Gough was quick to give him his marching orders for his raised forearm and direct contact to the head.

Barnett has apologized to Panther’s second-rower Chris Smith after the NRL game had finished. This at least aided in obtaining a less severe sentence.

Meanwhile, in the commentary, Warren Smith had described the incident as an “absolute brain explosion”. Benji Marshall has described it as a “moment of madness”.