Footy star whose father is a legend of the game allegedly bashed rival player in wild bar fight over a woman

Former NRL star Zac Hetherington has been charged by Queensland police after an alleged off-field attack on a rival rugby league player at a Brisbane bar.

Hetherington is the twin brother of Brisbane Broncos star Kobe and the son of footy legend Jason Hetherington, who represented Australia and Queensland from 1998 to 2000 and racked up 133-first grade games throughout his career.

The 26-year-old, who now plays for the Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court earlier this month after being charged with allegedly assaulting a Queensland Cup player in Brisbane’s CBD, according to News Corp.

Hetherington was charged in March after alleged incident, which has seen him accused of drunkenly assaulting Norths Devils star Brandon Finnegan.

The alleged altercation, which took place on the eve of the footy season, was reportedly sparked by a dispute over the treatment of a female – with Hetherington accused of punching the Devils player in question.

Despite the alleged incident, he had been allowed to continue playing footy for the Jets. 

Zac Hetherington (left) is pictured with his twin brother, Brisbane Broncos star Kobe

Queensland Rugby League CEO Ben Ikin has confirmed that he is well across the incident involving Hetherington.

‘We are aware of the incident, there has been a charge against Zac,’ Ikin told News Corp.

‘Zac is like everybody else – he will have his day in court and once that happens, we will sit down and have another discussion as a governing body.’

The NRL has a no-fault stand down policy which suspends players charged with serious offences regardless of their guilt.

Some sections of Queensland footy are reportedly outraged that Hetherington has been given the green light to continue playing.

However, Ikin has defended the decision from the QRL. 

‘It sits below the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy,’ he said, referring to the severity of the alleged incident.

‘Once it gets reported, we have our conversations internally and with the NRL to make sure we are aligned.

Zac Hetherington (right) is pictured with brother Kobe (second from right) and their footy legend father Jason (second from left)

‘Clearly, it’s not ideal, but the standards are the standards and we applied them as we know them.

‘Once Zac has his day in court, we will move into the next phase.’

The NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy has been in place since 2019 and allows the league to stand down players who have been charged with criminal offences that, if found guilty, carry jail sentences of 11 or more years.   

Hetherington is scheduled to appear in court on July 2.