Ben Barba and Colombian Marching Powder

[Parra]

Wouldn't bother me if he never plays in the NRL again

I'm not sure that he took that into consideration when he left.

 

[Nice Beaver]

So what are you belittling them both about by the words "self entitled" and "plays the victim every time"? Please enlighten me as i don't get it. Cos it really does sound like you're sore about them referring to their various mental health and personal issues as explanations for their gambling and drug issues.

My point is the nrl are presumably not registering them due to concerns about player welfare. But why not just register the contracts and suspend them for a period? Why hold the uncertainty over registering them as to whether they are eventually going to play or get paid. Can't do much to someone's welfare. Meanwhile theyre happy to let Roberts play on with whatever welfare plan the broncos showed them.

The delay not the suspension is why barba said bye bye

Barba is playing the victim card.

"Oh I have to go and play in France for 6 months because I have bills to pay".

Well firstly, who put him in a position where you need to forego your income? Don't cry that you have lost your income when you are the idiot sticking that crap up your nose pal.

And if you are such a moron that you earn that much money and have not put any of it away to cover 6 months of mortgage repayments, once again, don't get to the media and cry about it.

So your point about the delay being the reason he took up the 6 month deal in France is crap. He said why himself"- "I've got bills to pay".

Anyway, the dropkick is gone now and the game will be better for it.

Now ironically, he'll sell the house that required these mortgage repayments.

 

[insert.pause]

Has Barba ever fulfilled a contract?

Bulldogs > release to Broncos
Broncos > release to Sharks
Sharks > sacked/released

Hard to imagine he will stick out 2.5 years in a foreign country playing a foreign code.

 

[adamkungl]

Of all the players the NRL has lost to Union (or AFL or NFL) in the last 2 decades, Barba will be a minor footnote. 1 amazing year and 1 premiership but ultimately a dickhead who didn't fulfill his potential and chucked a tantrum.

Will likely come crawling back anyway. Should add interest to his suspension lol

 

[Captain Apollo]

Well Barba is off to Toulon. From the ABC News website -

Ben Barba quits rugby league to join French rugby union club Toulon, Cronulla Sharks confirm move
Updated 10 minutes agoThu 2 Feb 2017, 10:52am

Cronulla has confirmed Ben Barba is walking away from rugby league after accepting a lucrative contract to join French rugby union club Toulon.

The Sharks said Barba had informed the club he had accepted a two-and-a-half-year deal offered by Toulon.

"Ben believes accepting this offer to be in the best interests of himself and his family," a Sharks statement said.

"While disappointed to be losing a player of his calibre, the welfare of Ben and his family is our main priority and we are supportive of the decision he has made."

Barba had planned on spending the second half of the French Top 14 season with Toulon before returning to the NRL mid-year after serving a 12-month suspension for illicit drug use.

But the NRL stated on Wednesday Barba could not start serving that ban until he returned to Australia.

The former Dally M Medal winner could now turn out for Toulon as early as next weekend's Global Tens tournament in Brisbane.

Toulon shocked the NRL world late on Tuesday by trumpeting Barba's signature until midway through 2017.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg declared Barba's suspension would not start until any overseas playing commitments were completed, virtually ruling Barba out of a return this year.

The NRL's strong stance led Barba to question whether to back-track, prompting Toulon to table a longer term deal, which he accepted.

The developments come after the NRL had recently granted Barba permission to train at the club and participate in community programs.

Barba's NRL career chequered but successful

Barba was a key component in the Sharks' maiden premiership win last year, but tested positive to cocaine in the week that followed the club's grand final victory.

He played 168 matches across his nine-year NRL career, having debuted in 2008 for Canterbury, who four years later he helped guide to the grand final in the same season he won the Dally M Medal.

He exited the club the following year amid domestic violence allegations and joined Brisbane.

Barba failed to recapture his best form at the Broncos and accepted a career lifeline from Sharks coach Shane Flanagan in 2015.

The Toulon deal is expected to place Barba as one of the highest paid players in the world behind All Blacks legend Dan Carter and new team-mates Matt Giteau and Leigh Halfpenny.

It also suggests the door is open for further raids on Australia's rugby league stars by Toulon due to the cross-code interest of their coach, former English league international Mike Ford.

Ford was instrumental in luring Sam Burgess from South Sydney to the 15-man game during his stint at English club Bath and has already secured Parramatta sensation Semi Radradra for Toulon after the 2017 NRL season.

AAP/ABC

 

[myrrh ken]

Barba is playing the victim card.

"Oh I have to go and play in France for 6 months because I have bills to pay".

Well firstly, who put him in a position where you need to forego your income? Don't cry that you have lost your income when you are the idiot sticking that crap up your nose pal.

And if you are such a moron that you earn that much money and have not put any of it away to cover 6 months of mortgage repayments, once again, don't get to the media and cry about it.

So your point about the delay being the reason he took up the 6 month deal in France is crap. He said why himself"- "I've got bills to pay".

Anyway, the dropkick is gone now and the game will be better for it.

Now ironically, he'll sell the house that required these mortgage repayments.

haha - how is explaining to the media about why he signed a short term contract to get money crying about his situation and playing the victim? He's owning the problem and he's made a decision. He acknowledges he might never play in the NRL again as a result.

Yes the delay is the problem. He was happy to re-sign with the sharks on a reduced contract which suggests he was happy to wait the 12 weeks. But NRL are stretching it out.

And yes he is a dumb merkin for having epic benders and spending up large. Pretty harmless in the scheme of things.

Good luck to him.

 

[Nice Beaver]

haha - how is explaining to the media about why he signed a short term contract to get money crying about his situation and playing the victim? He's owning the problem and he's made a decision. He acknowledges he might never play in the NRL again as a result.

Yes the delay is the problem. He was happy to re-sign with the sharks on a reduced contract which suggests he was happy to wait the 12 weeks. But NRL are stretching it out.

And yes he is a dumb merkin for having epic benders and spending up large.

Good luck to him.

Mate, if you can't see how telling everyone he needs to sign a 6 month deal in France to "pay the bills", after being busted for drugs, is not playing the victim, then we'll go around in circles forever.

And hang on, didn't he sign a 6 month deal in France because he needed money? The reduced contract with the Sharks would not have kicked in until his suspension ended in Round 12. He signed the French deal thinking he'd be a smart prick and earn coin there for 6 months then walk into a Sharks jersey the next week.

So this delay you talk about had nothing to do with his decision. At all.

I hope he pulls his head in and sorts himself too.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

Well... The ARU have banned him from playing in that Mickey Mouse tens comp that's going on in Brisbane so at least they're holding up to their part of the deal.

If you read anything into that then it means that if he were to come back to a Super Rugby franchise at some point then he'll probably have to serve some sort of ban as well.

 

[Miller was a legend]

Who cares. He's gone

 

[myrrh ken]

Mate, if you can't see how telling everyone he needs to sign a 6 month deal in France to "pay the bills", after being busted for drugs, is not playing the victim, then we'll go around in circles forever.

He didn't organise a presser, the journos confronted him outside his house. The journos were presumably asking him why he signed. What could he have said in your eyes that would not play the victim card?

If he said no comment you would say he was being sly.

Was the original one 6 months?

 

[betcats]

He didn't organise a presser, the journos confronted him outside his house. The journos were presumably asking him why he signed. What could he have said in your eyes that would not play the victim card?

If he said no comment you would say he was being sly.

Was the original one 6 months?

"I made a mistake and now I must deal with the consequences" - You know, be a man instead of whinging about bills. This moron is talking about bills...how much money do you think he has been paid since 2012? Probably a couple million and we are supposed to give a f**k about his bills? Please. don't get caught doing coke twice you muppet.

 

[myrrh ken]

hmm

"So Ben why did you sign with Toulon, while you've got a contract with the Sharks pending NRL registration?"

"Because I made a mistake and now must deal with the consequences."

okay

 

[betcats]

hmm

"So Ben why did you sign with Toulon, while you've got a contract with the Sharks pending NRL registration?"

"Because I made a mistake and now must deal with the consequences."

okay

Much better than trying to be the victim and acting like his problems are the NRLs fault(which you seem to agree with). If he actually cant afford to pay his bills then that is a consequence of his actions, f**king deal with it.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

Good riddance, please don't come back.

 

[coolumsharkie]

The way I see things is that he signed a reduced contract with the Sharks and the NRL sat on their hands and did nothing. So whether for whatever childish reason you may not like him as a "player" the NRL has lost a great talent to Yawnion.

End of story.

 

[myrrh ken]

Much better than trying to be the victim and acting like his problems are the NRLs fault(which you seem to agree with). If he actually cant afford to pay his bills then that is a consequence of his actions, f**king deal with it.

he did. untwist panties in a clockwise direction.

 

[betcats]

he did. untwist panties in a clockwise direction.

Without trying to shift the blame to the NRL like you and a couple others keep trying to do.

 

[Lambretta]

The way I see things is that he signed a reduced contract with the Sharks and the NRL sat on their hands and did nothing. So whether for whatever childish reason you may not like him as a "player" the NRL has lost a great talent to Yawnion.

End of story.

From the NRL's point of view, losing Ben Barba to Union is more a positive than a negative
As talented as the lad is, he is a bad news story off the field with mental health issues, gambling issues and drug and alcohol issues

If he remained he was a time bomb. I wouldn't be surprised if they delay was engineered to see if he'd do something like this

It sucks from the Sharks point of view on the field. But off the field it will do you good and it creates cap space which is never a bad thing in a side which has just won a Permiership

 

[betcats]

From the NRL's point of view, losing Ben Barba to Union is more a positive than a negative
As talented as the lad is, he is a bad news story off the field with mental health issues, gambling issues and drug and alcohol issues

If he remained he was a time bomb. I wouldn't be surprised if they delay was engineered to see if he'd do something like this

It sucks from the Sharks point of view on the field. But off the field it will do you good and it creates cap space which is never a bad thing in a side which has just won a Permiership

It might not even suck for them on the field, they have a 20yo who might already be better. It will hurt there depth no doubt but if they stay healthy-ish that wont matter. People who act like any player going to rugby is a big loss are silly, we have so much talent in this game and the guys who do go to rugby or wherever usually come back. Barba is no loss, if we could handle losing Burgess, Hayne and SBW all pretty close to each other we can handle Benny Barba moving to france. Goodluck to him.

 

[ed612313]

Remains to be seen if he'll be any good at Rugby... He does his best work in open field and broken play. You don't get much of either in Union.

The ex-Leagies that do best in Rugby are the big bodied backs that can break a tackle like Tuqiri or Folau. Can't think of too many smaller blokes that have had some success in recent times... Benji Marshall went over thinking he'd kill it and absolutely bombed and while he doesn't have the pace of Barba he looked to have an all round game that was potentially more suitable.

Anyway... Time will tell.

???????
Is this some sort of joke?
Plenty of State Cup players that have walked into the Wannabies over the last 10 years and a few 1st graders also.
Off the top of my head -
- Matt Rogers
- Berrick Barnes
- Ryan Cross
- Craig Gower
- Shontaye Hape
- Duncan McCrae
- Andrew Walker
- Brett Sheehan

All small, and a few very average state cup players that all killed it in Yawnion.