NRL boss Todd Greenberg reaches out to the family of suspended Sharks star Ben Barba
TODD Greenberg has taken the unprecedented step of contacting the partner of suspended Cronulla Sharks star Ben Barba to offer his personal support.
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TODD Greenberg has taken the unprecedented step of contacting the partner of suspended Cronulla Sharks star Ben Barba to offer his personal support.
Barba’s partner and mother to his four children, Ainslie Currie, received a long-distance phone call from the NRL CEO moments after Greenberg had arrived in the UK for the Four Nations tournament last Wednesday.
Greenberg’s compassion call can be revealed alongside further details surrounding Barba’s anticipated 28-day stint in a Thailand rehabilitation facility.
Barba was granted a release by Cronulla from his $650,000 contract on Tuesday after testing positive to cocaine for a second time in the wake of their premiership celebrations.
The 27-year-old is currently without an NRL contract and under the terms of the NRL illicit drug policy, will miss 12 matches should he re-sign with the Sharks — or any other club — to play next season.
The call from Greenberg to Currie will come as a surprise to fans and rival club officials, but not those who are aware of the NRL leader’s relationship with Barba and his family, which extends back to when he was CEO of the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Greenberg was at the helm of the Dogs when Barba was stood down for “personal reasons” including the breakdown of a relationship” in 2013.
The former Canterbury boss drew criticism for his handling of the situation, but later stated he wouldn’t have dealt with it any differently.
The Saturday Telegraph understands that Greenberg’s call to Currie was supported by an earlier offer of support from the NRL welfare department to help Currie while Barba is overseas.
While the details of the phone call remains private, it’s understood Greenberg wanted to ensure Currie that the game was supportive of both her and her four children.
The NRL’s offer of support, including that of Greenberg and so too that of the Sharks reiterates Barba’s management’s claims he is dealing with issues not just related to illicit substance.
The Sharks’ refusal to close the door on Barba is also highlighted by the fact that he was accompanied by Cronulla welfare officer Shane Smith — a former special operations sergeant in the Australian Defence Force, who spent three and-a-half years in Afghanistan — to Thailand on Monday night.
Smith has been credited by Cronulla chief executive Lyall Gorman as a “undeniable rock of support for Ben’’.
“Shane was our clubman of the year this year and that doesn’t emphasise even half of the impact and support he is for our club,’’ Gorman said.
As part of the rehabilitation program, the former Dally M winner there is the potential that he will be joined in Thailand by Currie - and possibly his children.
Originally published as NRL boss Todd Greenberg reaches out to the family of suspended Sharks star Ben Barba
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