Footballer Ngangarra Barker hopes to swap NRL dream for Sevens heaven
It’s not often you get a second chance in sport but young gun Ngangarra Barker has and he’s planning to run with it as fast as he can.
Newcastle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Newcastle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
As second changes go, this one rates.
As a kid Ngangarra Barker dreamt of playing in the NRL and spent time as a junior with both the Gold Coast Titans and Knights clubs as a teenager.
A string of serious injuries, coupled with acute homesickness, conspired to end his elite league playing days prematurely.
HOMESICK: What sailor Will Ryan did after winning his world title
FAMILY MATTERS: To these world champions
Now four years on Barker, 22, has been given another shot at making a mark in football.
After 1300 players trialled across Australia, Barker is one of just 133 male and female athletes invited to attend a Rugby Australia First Nation sevens squad camp in Sydney this weekend.
The #dreamBigTime tour kicked off on March 25 in Bathurst and made its way through some of the most remote parts of Australia searching for the next faces of our Australian Sevens team.
Barker hopes to be one of them.
“My dream was to be a first grade rugby league player. But I broke my leg. Now I see this as my second chance,’’ said Barker, who plays for Kurri Kurri in the Newcastle League.
“I was with the Knights and Titans under 20s but didn’t play first grade.
“I moved to the Titans after I finished school but then I had a bad run with a broken leg and shoulder reconstruction.
“I also got homesick so I came home.
“It took me a while to get back into things after I broke my leg in 2015.
“I did loose my love of it (footy) a bit after being home sick for so long. But I’m really enjoying it now.”
Barker, who works a job he loves in out-of-home indigenous care, said he is excited to try his hand at Rugby Sevens.
“I still have a love and desire to play sport,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity to come back and I really like what these guys are doing.
“I still have dream of being an elite athlete. Hopefully this camp is a pathway for me.”
WELCOME TO THE NEWCASTLE NEWS
NewsLocal has launched the The Newcastle News — a new community website that will deliver hyperlocal news for the Newcastle and the Hunter Region — from Port Stephens in the north, Lake Macquarie in the south and throughout the beautiful Hunter Valley region.
Readers can connect on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and email: thenewcastlenews@news.com.au
The Newcastle News will update readers daily at www.thenewcastlenews.com.au.