Ben Barba

[Big Pete]

What are his chances of playing Origin this year and should he even be considered?

Has his form impressed you?

 

[Porthoz]

He's certainly in the best form since 2012, and is an important part of not only Cronulla's attack, but also defense. Flanagan has done a good job with him, and I remain curious as to what might have been if Wayne had taken him under his wing.

P.S. Before anyone even tries it, no this is NOT about Boyd!

 

[Unbreakable]

Yeah he's playing really well, still not really in the same ballpark as 2012, but definitely his best form since then.

Should be considered for origin? Nah, I'd feel much more comfortable with Boyd or Inglis.

 

[Sproj]

If we go with Morgan in the centres, I wouldn't be against him getting a utility role, but not really keen for it to happen either. Nice to know he's playing really well though with injuries mounting.

 

[Harry Sack]

He's an outside chance IMO.

 

[Smartseal]

**** him, he plays for cronulla. The cockroaches can have him

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

[Tera]

I don't know why, but I feel that Barba would go missing at Origin level.

 

[Rally Towel]

Form has been good, I for one am surprised as I expected less from him, and either Bird or Holmes to win back the jersey.

I'm pleased though, as the more quality players in the game the better.

As far as Origin goes, I struggle to see him being a viable candidate. Safety in defence and positional play is paramount, and despite his club level efforts, I believe he would be found wanting.

 

[Morkel]

I haven't seen him (pretty much at all) this year so I'm not going to judge. If his safety at the back has improved, that's good, because with limited game time last year, my sample range is from when he dropped everything that went near him in 2014.

 

[Waynesaurus]

His form has been pretty good and has that habit of being able to save tries by holding the ball up. Still is very much susceptible to being carried back in goal when he receives the ball near the try line tho.

 

[Mr Fourex]

Surprisingly, I think his work under the high ball has improved.

Still, there's no way I want to see him in a QLD jersey. Would be a huge liability.

 

[Kimlo]

I think he's as close as back to his best as he will get, but I still just can't trust him in a rep jersey...

 

[1910]

2012

Tries 0.8
Meters 122m
Line breaks 1
Try assists 0.9
Tackle busts 6.3
Off-loads 1.3
Errors 1.2

2016

Tries 0.9
Meters 101m
Line breaks 0.6
try assists 0.3
Tackle busts 4.3
Offloads 1.7
Errors 0.7

 

[bazza]

The fact that he wasn't picked for Origin, even as a utility, back in 2011/12, despite playing as good as he was back then, makes me almost certain Barba won't be playing origin this year unless more injuries strike. However, I wouldn't be against him being in the origin squad as 18th man or something. Just the confidence he would get from being around such quality players in such a prestigious environment would be invaluable to him moving forward.

Hopefully he can continue to improve and eventually regain that Dally M medal winning form and light up the competition again. Perhaps then he can stake a more serious claim to be included in the origin team.

 

[Morkel]

The fact that he wasn't picked for Origin, even as a utility, back in 2011/12, despite playing as good as he was back then, makes me almost certain Barba won't be playing origin this year unless more injuries strike. However, I wouldn't be against him being in the origin squad as 18th man or something. Just the confidence he would get from being around such quality players in such a prestigious environment would be invaluable to him moving forward.

Hopefully he can continue to improve and eventually regain that Dally M medal winning form and light up the competition again. Perhaps then he can stake a more serious claim to be included in the origin team.

Slater had the fullback position locked down, and there's no way he was going to beat Cronk to the utility position, and then DCE when Lockyer retired, especially as both of those can hold their own in the pack & DCE had just won a premiership.

 

[bazza]

Slater had the fullback position locked down, and there's no way he was going to beat Cronk to the utility position, and then DCE when Lockyer retired, especially as both of those can hold their own in the pack & DCE had just won a premiership.

Yes I agree, and I'm not suggesting that Barba should of been there, but my point was even when he was the best player in the comp, he still struggled to stake a proper claim for a spot in the Origin 17, so at the moment there's even less chance for him to play Origin this year when he's well below his best, albeit he is slowly building towards some of the form that earned him the Dally M.

 

[Morkel]

Yes I agree, and I'm not suggesting that Barba should of been there, but my point was even when he was the best player in the comp, he still struggled to stake a proper claim for a spot in the Origin 17, so at the moment there's even less chance for him to play Origin this year when he's well below his best, albeit he is slowly building towards some of the form that earned him the Dally M.

Gocha.