Ben Barba guides the Bulldogs to victory over the Brisbane Broncos

RESURGENT Ben Barba submitted an 11th-hour claim for an Origin baptism by spearheading Canterbury's 24-14 defeat of the Broncos.

RESURGENT Ben Barba last night submitted an 11th-hour claim for an Origin baptism by spearheading Canterbury's 24-14 defeat of the Broncos.

Languishing in fourth-last place, last year's grand finalists surged back into top-eight contention as Barba conjured magic in attack and defence in wet conditions at ANZ Stadium.

In the process, Barba made an ominous statement to Queensland selectors, who must seriously consider the Maroons hopeful after his match-winning performance to sink the Broncos.

A month ago, Barba seemed no hope of playing Origin after his pre-season meltdown, but a Queensland bench spot is now within reach when the Maroons side for the series opener is named on Monday night.

The fullback dynamo scored Canterbury's opening try, saved two others with last-ditch defence, and was a general menace as the Broncos slumped to a 5-6 win-loss record.

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The Broncos trailed 6-4 at halftime, but dropped too much ball after the break to allow Canterbury's big boppers to dominate their opposition front six.

Canterbury coach Des Hasler said Barba was mentally ready for a Queensland debut after his demolition job on the Broncos.

"Ben was good on a pretty tricky field," he said.

"I thought Ben was fantastic back there for us. You can't ignore his pedigree or his ability to score a try, but Queensland have an embarrassment of riches.

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"Sides are more aware of him, but I've got to give due credit to Benny. He has worked on other facets of his game, he still has that ability to turn a game on its head."

With the Origin season beckoning, the ANZ Stadium clash was of vital importance. The Broncos entered the clash in fifth. Incredibly, the Bulldogs were languishing in 13th, but were just one win adrift of Brisbane, underlining the congested state of the NRL.

If the clash meant anything to anyone, it was Barba. The Mackay marauder has been building. Last night, with Maroons hierarchy looking for Barba brilliance, the magician stepped up.

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The class oozed in attack and defence.

His belated Origin bid began in the seventh minute, when Barba pulled off a superb trysaving tackle on Broncos winger Lachlan Maranta, who had a head of steam and looked certain to crash over from close range.

Within 60 seconds, Barba had bolted to the other end of the field to defuse a cross kick.

Two minutes later, turning defence into attack, he delved into his bag of tricks to get the Dogs on the board.

Attacking the line, Barba grubber kicked through, watched Justin Hodges knock it down, then reacted in a flash, swooping on the loose ball and carrying Corey Norman across to score.

Eventually, the Broncos fought back initiating a slick backline move for Josh Hoffman to score his ninth try from 11 games.

BULLDOGS 24 (B Barba S Kasiano F Pritchard A Tolman tries T Hodkinson 4 goals) bt BRISBANE 14 (J Hoffman J Kahu L Maranta tries C Parker goal) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Jared Maxwell, Henry Perenara. Crowd: 11,344.