Barba has something to prove
Josh Rakic | October 4, 2009
BULLDOGS coach Kevin Moore says enigmatic halfback Ben Barba will have a chance to prove his NRL credentials this afternoon when he leads feeder club Bankstown City Bulls into battle against Balmain Ryde-Eastwood in the NSW Cup grand final at ANZ Stadium.
Barba has had the sole playmaking responsibilities thrust upon him after the controversial and confusing omission of five-eighth Daniel Holdsworth, who was ruled out by NSWRL officials who stated he'd played too many NRL matches to qualify - despite having led the star-studded Bulls to the grand final.
''It's a real shame,'' Moore said of Holdsworth, who will learn this week of his future at the Bulldogs. ''We feel he's been a touch hard done by due to the fact there were so many weekends he couldn't play Premier League, which wasn't his fault.
''I understand the rule is majority of games played, so it was very unfortunate that there were a number of times he could have played for the Bulls but didn't because of split rounds and byes and that sort of stuff.
''It's devastating for Daniel because he's been a pretty important part of that squad and contributed a lot to their success.''
Moore has labelled teenage sensation Barba the man to lead the club to their third grand final win this year - having already won the SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions.
''Hopefully he can stand up and lead the team around the park - that'll be great for his development with a view to play more first grade next year.
BANKSTOWN: 1 Brent Crisp,
2 Heka Nanai
3 Tim Winitana,
4 Matt Utai,
5 Nick Taylor,
6 Peewee Moke,
7 Ben Barba,
8 Charlie Leaeno,
9 Nathan Smith,
10 Fred Briggs,
11 Danny Williams (c),
12 Brad Morrin,
13 Lee Te Maari. Interchange:
14 John Kite,
16 Jake Foster,
17 Harlan Alaalatoa,
18 Trent Cutler,
19 Nathan Benny,
20 Chris Ward,
21 Dean Vicelich (three to be omitted).
Coach: Terry Lamb.
BALMAIN: 1 Sean Meaney,
2 Billy Callaway,
3 Lee Bennett (c),
4 Matthew Ryan,
5 Junior Roqica,
6 Gavin Cowan,
7 Josh Lewis,
8 Al Schirnack,
9 Ryan Carr,
10 David Gower,
11 Dean Webster,
12 Willie Mataka,
13 Jared Farlow. Interchange:
14 Fletcher Hawkins,
15 Eloni Vunakece,
16 Brett Lane,
17 Steve Moses,
18 Ben Falcone,
19 Sioeli Makaui,
20 Liam Roach,
21 Brett Peacock,
23 Matthew Parata (three to be omitted).
Coach: Paul Fletcher.
Referee: Adam Gee.
Kick-off: 12.10pm
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqnews/barba-has-something-to-prove/2009/10/03/1254418751755.html
