FORMER Dally M golden boy Ben Barba is coming back to the NRL after requesting a release from English club St Helens.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Barba plans to be back in Australia next season hoping to reprise the brilliance that saw him win the 2012 Dally M Medal and help the Sharks to the NRL title two years.
Barba has met with St Helens bosses and advised hierarchy of his decision to return home. The fullback is contracted to Saints until the end of next year, but will be granted a release on compassionate grounds.
That will open the door for Barba to resurrect the NRL career that ended ingloriously when he departed the Sharks following the cocaine scandal that marred the club’s first premiership in 49 years.
Barba was slapped with a three-month ban by the NRL.
Crippled by financial debts, Barba sought a big payday in French rugby before shifting to St Helens where he has been the club’s best Australian import since Mal Meninga, scoring 28 tries in 27 games.
The St Helens stint has rekindled Barba’s passion for the NRL and he will return to the Australian game next season still young enough to shine after turning 29 in June.
Barba’s successful run with Cronulla came to a premature end. Picture Brett Costello Largely injury free, that gives Barba another three or four years in the NRL. His management has been exploring opportunities and is confident of securing a contract for one of the best attacking players of the past two decades.
Barba has scored 99 tries in 168 games since his debut for the Bulldogs in 2008. He played a starring role in Cronulla’s 2016 premiership breakthrough but it is uncertain whether the Sharks will be keen to re-sign Barba.
St Helens were hoping to extend Barba’s deal but will support the one-time Queensland Origin hopeful in his bid to return to the NRL.
Barba is unlikely to face any registration obstacles from NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg given the governing body has rubber-stamped Broncos prop Matt Lodge’s return to the game.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail last year, Barba said the cocaine scandal made him appreciate what he had lost and hadn’t given up hope of an NRL return.
“I guess I’ve learned how easy things were when I was back in Australia and it’s one of those things ... you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” said Barba from England.
“It hasn’t so much been a learning curve but I’ve understood things a little bit better. I’ve made mistakes and this is how I can make up for it really, by playing good football for St Helens.
“Just being around the town has showed me how important the club is to the people.
“I guess that (the hype at his signing) comes with what I’ve done in my career. I struggled with that when I was younger but now I’m a lot older and I’ve seen what it’s like to be the centre of media attention.
“Maybe one day I can return to the NRL. Now I know what I have to do to perform at my best.”
