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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2632527, member: 1899"] [b]Re: [RUMOUR] Ben Barba to Cronulla[/b] Just my thoughts on the subject. When the club signed Ben Barba, we were in dire straights. All that promise we showed in 2011 had come to naught and it was time to look at our options and import other talent. Enter Ben Barba. In 2012, Barba had one of the best seasons of any fullback in the history of the game and was dangerous everywhere on the park. He was a perfect fit at the time but the question was whether or not the Ben and the Broncos could work through the baggage and how long it would take. The answer appears to be more than one season. Watching Ben play in 2014 was deflating. While he had his moments, it was pretty clear that he was a shadow of his former self and really lacked the speed and confidence that made him so majestic in 2012. It didn't help either that he was basically forced into a playmaking role to compensate for the club's lack of playmaking halves. While Ben has a few qualities in his game that lend themselves to creating opportunities - Ben was the master of executing them and this emphasis really hurt the quality of his contribution. Personally speaking, I was pretty critical of Ben's season. At first, I was willing to bide my time and accept the old hiccup but as the season wore on and Ben remained stagnant I felt I had to express that opinion more and more. It seemed like a lot of users here were caught up in discussing the obvious elephant in the room, that being Josh Hoffman at five eighth but I thought Barba and others were getting a free-ride despite their poor performances. Thinking back, I still think it would have been cool if at some point Kodi Nikorima was handed his debut at the fullback position just to see how he'd handle it. Under the high ball and defensively he had issues but I believe he would have offered more in offence - heck, I still think he and his brother Jayden should be considered next season. However, despite having a sub-par season it's disappointing to hear that Ben may not be apart of the plans moving forward. I feel like I just got used to the idea of him playing, plus I much prefer a coach who adapts to the situation and makes the most of it, instead of forcing his own methods on the club. I know that point has some holes in it, but put it this way, I like that Des didn't take Brett Stewart with him to Canterbury and just made the most of the situation there. I'll save my thoughts on Darius for another thread at another time but in short, I feel like he's a good player playing in a position that demands greatness and will leave it at that for the time being. The point I'm making is that, I'd love to see Ben Barba's story end on a good note and unless there is something we don't know about his ankle, believe he can definitely improve on his past two seasons and give us something we can brag about. Now that's something, how long has it been since you felt like you could beat your chest about the Broncos? Honestly speaking, it's been about 8 years but that's a tangent for another day. As far as a planned move to Cronulla goes - if Ben can't get a start here, I wouldn't want to see it because it would basically mean he'd have to play five eighth and I don't rate him in that position. I'd much rather see him play for a club like the Raiders, Titans, Knights, Cowboys etc. wherever his services as a fullback could come in handy. TL;DR - Barba sucked in 2014, but I like his upside and would like to see us give him a chance to do his thing in 2015. If he does leave, would hate to see him go to Cronulla. [/QUOTE]

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