Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba stood down indefinitely

[El Diablo]

he's not the face and no ads will have to be edited

 

[Desert Qlder]

The other question is if this has been going on for over a month, why didn't someone tip the NRL off that maybe Barba wasn't the best choice as face of the game and to find someone else.

Surely, someone knew this was heading in a bad direction.

This is the only justified piece of criticism I can find in this particular episode.

Canterbury clearly knew of Ben's personal issues and that they may at some stage cause him trouble. Being as proactive as they appear under Greenberg, one would think they could have informed NRL marketing of the situation.

While I think Ben being 'the face of the game' is a media construct anyway, the NRL certainly invested heavily in his image. It appears that Paul Kind and his team haven't learned from previous errors.

So I'd say this highlights the fact that Paul Kind is the person in the NRL organisation that needs the most amount of scrutiny in his performance. He is not a product of the new era, rather a leftover from the dreary Gallop days. So if NRL marketing doesn't improve and Kind doesn't lift his performance a new person may be necessary.

 

[firechild]

he's not the face and no ads will have to be edited

What about the junior footy one with Slater, Thurston and Barba?

 

[El Diablo]

Brent Read was on Sky News saying the NRL were not going to remove his image from any ads

he thinks that means he'll be back sooner rather than later

 

[Canard]

If the new norm is to get suspended indefinitely for getting "off chops" in the off-season we are going to have a lot of missing players from now on.

 

[The Gambler]

Also. Again based on my experiences back at school and from parties and going out afterwards. The quickest way for Barba to ruin his life would be for him to hang out with Daniel "do you know who I am?" Folkes.

Ha. This.

I have had my own run ins with the fool.....I am currently undefeated.

 

[coolsteve]

Haha Benny is a soft c**k.

Read Jack Gibson's book, when he was coaching the Dragons what Barba is doing was standard operating procedure for Billy Smith and a few of his mates.

lol I dunno, the yoof these days...

jack gibson coached the dragons?

 

[Nightward]

This curse is the funniest thing in sport

It's not a curse.

They just never choose the right players to be the face of the NRL. It's always some young gun, not a long-serving player who has earned respect. The "face of the NRL" should be someone like Petero, Preston, Bailey and so on- a greaat player with a track record of integrity and not getting into trouble.

Instead, they keep going with whoever had the best highlight reel from the previous season.

 

[Fire]

jack gibson coached the dragons?

Yep. In 1970 and 1971.

I haven't got the book on hand sorry, but he says something along the lines of he used to encourage Billy Smith and a few others to go out and get loose, because that is what they loved doing.

Happy lifestyle off the field = good footballers on the field.

Some of those old Sainters drunk so hard then turned up to training the next day and were awesome. The amount they drank, then backing up for training I couldn't do, not even at 21 years of age.

 

[coolsteve]

heard many a story bout smith, langlands and raper back at the leagues club

 

[betcats]

Yep. In 1970 and 1971.

I haven't got the book on hand sorry, but he says something along the lines of he used to encourage Billy Smith and a few others to go out and get loose, because that is what they loved doing.

Happy lifestyle off the field = good footballers on the field.

Some of those old Sainters drunk so hard then turned up to training the next day and were awesome. The amount they drank, then backing up for training I couldn't do, not even at 21 years of age.

Pfft no dragons pea heart could out drink me.

 

[Pierced Soul]

Instead, they keep going with whoever had the best highlight reel from the previous season.

but these are the players who get associated with the game. kids arent going to want to watch the nrl because you put bull baily up on the screen. people don't see petero doing hitups as "exciting"

i thinks its unfortunate that the players who've been chosen have then had issues. these players before being chosen havent had a track record of problems - if you chose tomato or whatever his name is who's just left penrith then you'd have a justified criticism of who they've picked, or if you picked robert lui who's been charged TWICE with DV you could make the argument

 

[Nightward]

but these are the players who get associated with the game. kids arent going to want to watch the nrl because you put bull baily up on the screen. people don't see petero doing hitups as "exciting"

There is a difference between what Channel 9 (say) can do to promote the game and what the NRL should do to promote it.

If nothing else, the fact that the "face of the NRL" has found themselves in hot water legally or in terms of social opinion every year of late should indicate they need to stop going with whoever the Channel 9 commentary team has designated MOST EXCITING PLAYER EVAR!!11eleventy and instead select someone who has proven themselves worthy of being an ambassador for the game.

 

[betcats]

Is he even the 'face of the season' ? I thought he was just doing the launch.

Do we even have a 'face of the season' anymore?

 

[Fire]

Pfft no dragons pea heart could out drink me.

Haha if you say so...

 

[Desert Qlder]

Is he even the 'face of the season' ? I thought he was just doing the launch.

Do we even have a 'face of the season' anymore?

No it is just a construct of Josh Massoud and Dean Ritchie who are using it as an angle for criticism.

Other media following suit is typical of the 'follow the leader' approach of many journalists in this country.

 

[RufusRex]

my initital thought ... come on clearly ability is not everything when looking at a player like Barba.

 

[El Diablo]

Is he even the 'face of the season' ? I thought he was just doing the launch.

Do we even have a 'face of the season' anymore?

no

it's just media spin so they can carry on with the curse crap and churn out a few articles about it

 

[betcats]

Haha if you say so...

I was taking the piss...anyway I reckon there would be some exaggeration of the amounts of alcohol drank, most people tend to exaggerate their drinking abilities.

 

[Flapper]

Jamie Soward probably has a middy of Pure Blonde then gets his aggro on.