HAD he played in the era before Paul Gallen changed rugby league forever by using Nate Myles' head as a punching bag, I highly doubt rival players would have taken liberties with Jack Hetherington.
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Any who did would probably have lived to regret it.
By all accounts, if the fiery Newcastle Knights forward was not earning a living as an NRL player, he could potentially have forged a lucrative career as a heavyweight boxer.
Perhaps that explains why he never takes a backward step when push comes to shove on the footy field, and why he (a) found himself dispatched to the the sin-bin during last week's loss to Canterbury at Accor Stadium, and (b) confronted Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney in the players' tunnel after both had received their marching orders.
Back before Gallen cracked Myles with a left and a right in a now-famous 2013 State of Origin dust-up - prompting then NRL chief executive Dave Smith to effectively ban the biff - the law of the jungle ensured that natural justice prevailed.
A little smart-arse like Mahoney, goading and taunting a bigger opponent who knows how to handle himself, would have been dealt with in time-honoured fashion.
Hence players who gave cheek to the likes of Gorden Tallis and Paul Harragon were few and far between, because everyone knew, and accepted, the inevitable consequences.
Those days are now a memory, and while long-time footy aficionados reckon the 13-man code is poorer for it, there is a duty of care to players, given what modern science has revealed about the dangers of concussion.
And it is just not a good look, especially for parents whose kids want to play the game.
Hetherington should know all that, because he has been around for long enough now to be familiar with how the NRL judiciary system operates.
His one-week suspension, after being charged with grade-two contrary conduct, was a reminder, just in case he's forgotten.
Lectures from Knights coach Adam O'Brien and football director Peter Parr will have rammed home the message, but my guess is that they probably weren't even necessary.
Nobody will be feeling worse than Hetherington for firstly finding himself in the sin-bin again and, even worse, leaving his teammates a man short this weekend.
He'll be filthy with himself, because as he told me in the pre-season: "When you're running on the red line, in the heat of the moment, you do silly things sometimes.
"I've done a lot of work on my mind since then, and I'm confident that I know how to harness those emotions and control them.
"I'm past that stage. I'm mentally stronger and I know how to deal with it.
"You can be aggressive and competitive and play strong, but you still have to serve the team. And getting sin-binned is not serving the team."
I'd imagine Hetherington has taken a long, hard look in the mirror this week, because despite what people might think, he's not just another brainless front-rower.
I've interviewed plenty of them over the years and, rest assured, big Jack strikes me as a smart bloke and genuinely nice guy.
He's also, as both Gallen and Phil Gould noted on Channel Nine's 100% Footy this week, an "elite" talent.
Gallen declared Hetherington was capable of playing State of Origin. Gould said as an athlete he was "off the charts" in terms of his physical capacity.
My view is it is a bit like the question I posed regarding Latrell Mitchell a couple of weeks ago: how does Hetherington want to be remembered when he hangs up the boots?
His father, Brett, is best known as a premiership winner with Canberra in 1994 who was inducted recently into the Raiders' Hall of Fame.
Brett was a very good, under-rated player in his own right, but I'm sure he would be the first to acknowledge that Jack has far more ability.
Nobody knows better than Jack what he needs to do to realise that potential.
