Road to redemption will be long so can Ben Barba return to the NRL?
A 12-WEEK suspension for his second positive drugs test has ended his resurgent year with Cronulla on the lowest note imaginable and a return to the NRL seems a long way away.
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A 12-WEEK suspension for his second positive drugs test has ended his resurgent year with Cronulla on the lowest note imaginable and a return to the NRL seems a long way away.
Barely a month after helping Cronulla to their first title, Barba has left the club that took a chance on him after he washed out at the Broncos in 2014.
“Consistent with our club’s major focus on the welfare of its players, the club is fully supportive of this decision and will assist in any way possible to allow Ben the time needed to address his life away from the pressure environment of professional sport,” said the Sharks in a statement on this morning.
“Although Ben has had a very successful season on the field culminating in being a major part of a winning Grand Final team, it is his life away from the field which he now seeks assistance with.
“Both the club, Ben and his team mates hope that at some stage in the future he will be able to return to the game he loves but that is not the priority at the moment.”
While a return to the field may not be a priority right now, the time will come when it will be.
Despite his recent good form, the options for an NRL return seem thin for Barba.
The only team with a clear and immediate vacancy at fullback are the battling Newcastle Knights and why would they take a chance on Barba?
Coach Nathan Brown has long stressed that he’s trying to rebuild the culture of the Knights and signing a player with Barba’s chequered history would seemingly go against everything he’s trying to build.
Perhaps the desperate Dragons, who want to move Josh Dugan to centre but aren’t comfortable with any of his possible replacements at fullback, would take a gamble on Barba but even that seems a long shot.
Despite his undoubted talents, even signing Barba as a back up would be an unlikely prospect given the off-field baggage he brings with him.
With an immediate NRL return seemingly on the backburner, Barba has two choices if he wants to continue his rugby league career.
The first is to follow in the footsteps of Todd Carney, Joel Monaghan, Greg Bird and a host of other former NRL players who were punted and link with a Super League club.
A player of Barba’s talents and pedigree would easily command a reasonable deal with a Super League side that needed a bit of spark, or failing that one of the ambitious Championship sides (the division below Super League) such as newly relegated Hull KR or former powerhouse Bradford.
The second option is that Barba signs with a NSW or Queensland Cup side in an attempt to work his way back to the NRL.
The Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup could be one possible destination given Barba’s brother Marmin plays there.
Both scenarios would require Barba to miss close to half of next season but if he could get his act together and play something close to his best it appears to be his best chance of an NRL return.
It might seem as though this is the end of Ben Barba’s NRL career, but history tells us that may not be the case.
After all, players have made their way back to the NRL from far worse circumstances. Convictions and jail time for offences such as domestic violence, assault and drug trafficking have not prevented other players from returning to first grade, so the door should not be closed on Barba’s NRL career just yet.
Timeline: How Barba’s career unfolded
Barba makes his first grade debut for the Bulldogs in a 30-0 loss to St George Illawarra. The Queenslander had been a phenomenon in the Under 20s, scoring 28 tries in 20 matches and despite losing all four NRL matches he played in his debut season there was significant hype for the beginnings of his first grade career.
After playing just four matches in 2009, Barba secured his place in the first grade team for the first time in early 2010 and was first used as an impact player off the bench. In a 60-14 win against the Roosters he scored his first career hat-trick with the pick of the bunch being his third, which saw him latch onto a Ben Roberts kick and race 50 metres to score in the corner. He finished the season with 15 tries in 21 matches.
Barba began the 2011 season at fullback and stayed there all year, finally locking down a place in the Bulldogs starting side three years after his debut.
In the final month of the season Barba scored eight tries in four matches to take his season total to 23 in 24 games. His four-try haul against the Raiders in Round 26 saw him finish top try scorer for the first time.
Barba’s miracle season in 2012 is well known and it arguably peaked in the 20-4 win over Melbourne in his hometown of Mackay. He created one of the greatest tries of the NRL era, collecting a kick deep in his own in-goal and weaving through defenders form 70 metres before kicking inside for Josh Morris to score.
The dream season is rewarded with the Dally M medal, the Dally M fullback of the year award, the Peter Frilingos Memorial award for headline moment of the year and the Provan-Summons medal as the peoples choice. Barba is one of just three Dally M winners never to play Test or Origin football.
The minor-premiership winning Bulldogs lose the grand final to the Storm 14-4. Barba is well contained by a ruthless Melbourne side.
Barba scores three tries for the Indigenous side in the first half of the All Stars match.
Barba is indefinitely suspended by the Bulldogs due to behavioural issues. Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg says the incident was not a police matter but that Barba did breach the club’s code of conduct. Barba later spends time at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre on the northern beaches.
Barba makes his return for the Bulldogs, scoring a try in a 17-12 loss to South Sydney.
While injured, Barba asks for a release from his contract to sign with Brisbane, citing personal issues. He inks a three-year deal with the club.
Barba plays his final match for the Bulldogs, a 22-6 defeat to Newcastle in the first week of the finals. He is stretchered off with an ankle injury in the second half and does not return.
In a fitting coincidence, Barba makes his Broncos debut against his former club and sets up a try in Brisbane’s 18-12 win.
The longest try-scoring drought of Barba’s career ends as he scores his first four-pointer for the Broncos in a 32-6 defeat of Newcastle.
After shifting from fullback to five-eighth in a lacklustre season, Barba plays his final game for the Broncos. He scored a try in a 32-20 loss to North Queensland in the first week of the finals.
Barba is told that he surplus to requirements by returning Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett and he signs a three-year deal with the Sharks on November 11th.
Barba makes his club debut for the Sharks at five-eighth. In an unhappy performance, he is targeted relentlessly by the Raiders in a 24-20 defeat.
After being relegated to the bench, Barba scores his first try for the Sharks in a 22-6 win over Newcastle. He remains as the bench utility for the rest of the season, scoring three tries in 19 appearances.
Barba staves off the challenge of Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird to begin the season as Sharks fullback.
Barba scores the first try of the grand final and helps lead the Sharks to a 14-12 win in his best season since his Dally M year.
Barba tests positive to cocaine and is released by the Sharks.
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Originally published as Road to redemption will be long so can Ben Barba return to the NRL?
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