Mark’s a cut above Barba
PERCY’S STILL THE KING FOR WILKIN
JON WILKIN can’t wait to welcome ‘The Hairdresser’ to St Helens.
But he still insists teammate Mark Percival is No.1 when it comes to Super League centres.
Saints’ capture of Aussie maverick Ben Barba is one of the game’s biggest coups for years.
Former England skipper Wilkin has already caught up with the new man’s bag of tricks via the internet.
But he doesn’t need to see YouTube clips to rate Percival so highly.
The unassuming England star scored two tries, including a late winner, and finished with 14 points in Thursday’s thrilling 22-19 derby win over Wigan.
‘Hairdresser’ Barba helped Cronulla Sharks to a historic Grand Final win last season but blew his NRL career after testing positive for cocaine.
The Darwin-born full-back switched to union with French outfit Toulon but has now been hailed as St Helens’ biggest signing since the arrival of another Aussie ace, Jamie Lyon.
Instinctive
But Wilkin said: “Percy is as good as Jamie Lyon. There is no player who creates more opportunities in Super League than Mark Percival.
“For a young player he has got an instinctive understanding of space and timing. Our challenge is to suppress his will to play at times. But when he does, he is an incredible player.
“For such a young player to change games from centre, it is mad. He doesn’t get the plaudits he deserves.
“I believe he is the best centre in the comp.”
Barba isn’t due to make his Saints debut until the middle of the Super 8s as he is serving a 12-game ban, imposed by the NRL in November 2016, for his drug offence.
When he is available, Wilkin is excited by the prospect of Barba helping Saints win trophies again.
“We are buzzing Ben wants to come back to rugby league,” said Wilkin. “It’s a great signing and a great boost for the club.
“The challenge for us is to get the best out of Ben Barba. He does stuff a lot of people have not been able to do. He is instinctive, quick, dangerous and threatening in every aspect.”