DUMPED BARBA’S NEXT CAREER MOVE
SACKED NRL STAR TAKES JOB IN MACKAY
A SHATTERED Ben Barba has begun a new career as a truck driver as the troubled rugby league bad boy attempts to recover from an NRL life ban following his sacking by the Cowboys.
Barba will return to the workforce on Monday, driving trucks in hometown Mackay in a desperate bid to pay the bills for his young family after having his Cowboys contract torn up a fortnight ago.
Once rugby league’s No.1 player after winning the Dally M Medal in 2012, Barba has gone from an NRL star earning $500,000 to a blue-collar battler earning around $27.20 an hour — the average wage for an Australian truck driver.
Barba met with North Queensland’s welfare team on Wednesday to discuss his future as he plans to seek professional help for alcohol abuse, anger management and relationship counselling.
Banned from also playing local league in Mackay, Barba is resigned to driving trucks with a view to one day securing more lucrative income working in the mines.
Cowboys director of football Peter Parr said the club was trying to help Barba, partner Ainslie Currie and their four young daughters rebuild their life without a professional football income.
“Ben starts driving trucks on Monday and his longerterm goal is to work in the mines, so I hope he can turn things around,” Parr said.
“Ben’s welfare is still important to us. I’ve been in touch with Ben and he was in touch with our welfare manager the other day. We are going to help Ben wherever possible. At the end of the day, Ben is a human being with a partner and four young kids and we can’t just toss them out without any care.”
Barba had his Cowboys contract torn up following an alleged altercation with Ms Currie at the Townsville casino — prompting the National Rugby League to issue a life ban. Queensland police are still investigating the incident, but Currie is standing by Barba, who met with the Cowboys’ welfare unit amid fears he is sinking into depression.
Barba’s management says the sacked fullback is picking up the pieces with the support of Currie.
“Ben has had some dark days,” his manager Gavin Orr said. “It may seem weird to some, but the person who is helping him through all this is his partner Ainslie. The family unit have been under a lot of stress, but they are still together. Ainslie is standing by him. She feels bad about the whole episode. It’s a tough situation and they are trying their best to work through it.”
NRL boss Todd Greenberg has warned the code’s stars of the consequences of bad behaviour following revelations Ben Barba will drive trucks after being axed by the Cowboys.
Barba will return to the workforce on Monday in a desperate bid to pay the bills after having his $500,000 Cowboys deal torn up.
Rugby league has endured a horrific off-season with unsavoury incidents involving Jack de Belin, Dylan Walker and Dylan Napa and Barba’s demise is evidence the fall from grace for NRL stars can be depressingly swift.
Greenberg is fed up with NRL stars giving the sport a series of black eyes and says the ramifications for offenders such as Barba are serious.
“I’ve been clear about the damage which the recent incidents have had and will have on the game,” Greenberg told the Townsville Bulletin. “The damage is significant. That’s why it is so important to ensure we – as a game – change behaviours and attitudes.”
Just a fortnight ago, former Dally M golden boy Barba, 29, was preparing to make his Cowboys debut against the Dragons in the NRL premiership opener in Townsville on March 16.
Now he is forced to seek alternative employment after being terminated by the Cowboys for on off-field casino clash involving his partner Ainslie. To compound his plight, Barba has been forced to leave Townsville after the devastating floods damaged the house he was renting.
Barba’s manager Gavin Orr admits he is shocked by the premiership-winning fullback’s freefall, just months after winning the Man of Steel award, the English Super League’s equivalent of the Dally M Medal.
“Ben is going to have to work to put food on the table,” Orr said.
“I can’t believe how quickly it has all fallen apart for Ben. I’ve never seen a guy go from Super League’s No.1 player last year to nothing in a few months.
“He was at the pinnacle of the NRL. The Dally M Medal and Man of Steel awards, grand finals ... now he’s gone and told he can’t play ever rugby league again.
“What would anyone’s mental state be in that situation? I spoke to Ben the other day and he was naturally pret- ty depressed about everything that has happened.
“There are quite a few other players in the game who have committed atrocities and haven’t got a life ban, but if Ben is now the standard of punishment, I guess other careers could finish as well.”
■ JAMES Roberts says he is primed to become even more lethal this season, revealing Broncos coach Anthony Seibold has formulated a new game plan for “The Jet”.
The Broncos’ fastest player launches his 2019 campaign tonight when he turns out for the Indigenous All Stars against their New Zealand Maori rivals at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
Roberts, 25, runs out for his Aboriginal people buoyed by the most rewarding season of his career last year, having clinched his maiden NSW Origin jumper.
Now Brisbane have plans to take Roberts to another level of dominance, with the speed machine hoping a new attacking approach under Seibold can make him the NRL’S No.1 centre.
“I definitely think I can get better this year, a lot better,” said Roberts, who will partner NSW Origin teammate Latrell Mitchell in the centres tonight.
“Seibs has changed our structures in both defence and attack and I believe it will suit the type of players we have in our team.
“I’ve been working on some smaller things in my game. I need to be more consistent and that’s something the coaching staff are working on to get me to that level.
“I’m really excited about our game plan this year, Seibs has definitely refreshed the group and his ideas have helped me, too.
“Wayne [former Bronco’s coach Wayne Bennett] has a job to do with Souths now and I wish him well, but I’m contracted to the Broncos so my focus is on them.
“I need to perform week to week during the season.”
Roberts, who scored one of the tries of the 2018 NRL season with his 70m scorcher against the Roosters in round 11, admits he is still recovering from an achilles injury that affected him last year.
Brisbane’s new training regime under Seibold has seen Roberts bulk up to 96kg, which is 2kg heavier than his playing weight last season.
“I’ve put on a few kilos, I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been,” Roberts said.
“It wasn’t quite planned that way. I’m still not 100 per cent fit, I’ve had a few niggles with my achilles still, so I’m trying to train hard while managing the load I put on my achilles.
“It’s taken ages for it to heal but I won’t need surgery on it. The medical staff say it will get better with time, so I will definitely be fit for round one.”
Roberts hopes to come charging out of the blocks tonight.
“I’m very proud to be wearing the Indigenous jumper again,” he said. “I’m really proud to represent my family and my people ... I’m feeling fresh and ready to go.”
I’VE NEVER SEEN A GUY GO FROM SUPER LEAGUE’S NO.1 PLAYER LAST YEAR TO NOTHING IN A FEW MONTHS
GAVIN ORR