Upset powered by heartache, \u2018heated\u2019 clash that could explode<\/a><\/p>\nJason Hetherington holds up Terry Lamb after the 1995 Grand Final win.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old is desperate to finish his time at Red Hill with a premiership and his dad reminded him of how rare these special opportunities are. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s getting another crack at a Grand Final, which they don\u2019t come around too often and he\u2019s had two cracks in three years,\u201d Hetherington senior told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
Matty, Fletch & Hindy tip Storm in GF | 01:40<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s having a good run at it, so hopefully for him, the club and the Broncos organisation, they can get over the line. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously with Melbourne as well, the quality in there and don\u2019t worry, they\u2019d still be smarting, their memories are 12 months fresher than the Broncos, so they have got a lot there in front of them as well.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kobe Hetherington lost the 2023 Grand Final to the Panthers.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Making his final game for the Broncos even more important is the fact Hetherington and many of his teammates lost the 2023 decider from a seemingly unlosable position. <\/p>\n
While a win in the decider wouldn\u2019t erase the Broncos\u2019 loss to the Panthers two seasons ago after being three tries up, it would certainly be a moment of redemption for many of the players. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were definitely disappointed the whole lot of them,\u201d Hetherington senior said of the Broncos\u2019 last Grand Final appearance. <\/p>\n
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\u201cThey had nine fingers on the trophy by rights really and let it slip, but obviously to a great side in Penrith. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s fish and chips wrapping on a fish box somewhere now, you\u2019ve just got to move on and get ready and try and do it all over again, which fortunately for the Broncos they have bounced back and they\u2019re getting another crack at it. <\/p>\n
Jason Hetherington lost the 1998 Grand Final to the Broncos.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m guessing it will be lodged in the back of their minds that last 15 minutes a couple of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
But win or lose Hetherington could not be prouder of his son for matching his Grand Final appearances so early in his career and hopes there are plenty more opportunities to come. <\/p>\n
\u201cBloody oath, it\u2019s exciting for him and for the family,\u201d Hetherington said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all bloody proud of him.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Hetherington and the family will come down from Gladstone in Queensland to be in the crowd at Accor Stadium on Sunday and he hopes the experiences from 2023 will help Kobe and his teammates in their preparations. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s excited, getting ready for it,\u201d Hetherington said. <\/p>\n
Kobe Hetherington will join Manly in 2026.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess a bit of a gradual build up and they just need to get through all the formalities and that first bit of a different week for them. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut at least it\u2019s not unfamiliar to them because they were in it a couple of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has been a whirlwind first and last season under Michael Maguire for Hetherington. <\/p>\n
There were reports he was on the outer at the Broncos in 2024 with then coach Kevin Walters, before a number of clubs showed interest in his services for 2025. <\/p>\n
Best 17 on Paper: “I think Brisbane” | 02:39<\/p>\n
However, Hetherington senior revealed Kobe was always wanted at the Broncos and Walters and Maguire wanted to keep him. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, that was all sort of probably misunderstood a fair bit on what went on through the press, that wasn\u2019t true at all,\u201d Hetherington said. <\/p>\n
Kobe Hetherington will play his last game for the Broncos in a decider.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a big part of Kevvie\u2019s plans as well. And also obviously there was a lot of interest getting branded around from other clubs and he was still contracted with Brisbane anyway, so Madge said, no you are not going anywhere.\u201d <\/p>\n
While he has been a big part of the Broncos\u2019 plans in 2025 and the club was hopeful of re-signing him in 2026, Hetherington chose to join the Sea Eagles next season on a four-year deal. <\/p>\n
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While security was a part of it, his dad believes a new challenge after eight years at the Broncos was a big role in his son\u2019s decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you just have got to chance your arm a little bit,\u201d Hetherington said. <\/p>\n
\u201cFour years is obviously a lot safer than one year. But he backed himself and has been rewarded. <\/p>\n
Hetherington has had his most consistent season for the Broncos in 2025.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI was explaining when I talked to him about it, it\u2019s a whole new beginning now. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been at Brisbane for eight years, so now you\u2019ve just got a bit of a reset on everything. You\u2019ve got a whole new environment, new organisation, new players around you. Everything\u2019s new.\u201d <\/p>\n
After spending his whole career at the Broncos, Hetherington believes the change of scenery in Sydney will allow his son to get out of his comfort zone and test himself in a new environment. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to be living in Manly, so in a sense, I don\u2019t think he was in a comfort zone because he was sort of going year to year,\u201d Hetherington explained. <\/p>\n
3 Try BLITZ – Should Mam start? | 01:03<\/p>\n
\u201cBut just stepping out of that little zone where you can get a little bit comfortable at times. It\u2019s an old saying that dreams are lost and buried in comfort zones. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you just have got to take the gamble and back yourself and he\u2019s doing that. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Manly see a lot in him, which is good and he can add value to their organisation as well, so at least he\u2019s going to chance it and have a crack at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hetherington will be a danger man off the bench for the Broncos.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Manly were not a part of the finals this season, but Hetherington believes his son will get a chance for more success at the Sea Eagles, but maybe not at surfing on his days off. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got a strong roster too,\u201d Hetherington said of Manly. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey like a lot of clubs were decimated with injury. Losing key players certainly hurts your team. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think they\u2019ve got a really good young roster and he\u2019ll fit in well there. <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know about the surfing part of it, I don\u2019t think he is real good at that, but he\u2019ll fit in well there.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hetherington played a lot of football with Manly assistant Jim Dymock at the Bulldogs and believes his son is in good hands with the Sea Eagles coaching staff. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019ll do well under Anthony Seibold and Jimmy Dymock,\u201d Hetherington said. <\/p>\n
Accor Stadium prepares for Grand Final | 02:24<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a few guys there that I\u2019m very familiar with, that will look after him and help him settle in.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, Hetherington warned his son the last time he cleans out his Broncos locker with or without the NRL premiership trophy, will be an emotional moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a big move for him and I\u2019ve explained that, I\u2019ve had to do the same going to Belmore,\u201d Hetherington said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019ll be ready for it, I think it\u2019ll be a good change for him. But I did say certainly when you clean your locker out for the last time, it will be quite emotional for you, so get ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A premiership ring on his finger will make it a little easier no doubt, to match his dad in 1995. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jason Hetherington played in two Grand Finals in his whole career and has watched his son Kobe play…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-190270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}