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Hopefully someone at the ARU, or the Rebels, had the foresight to sit suspended Kurtley Beale down in front of the television yesterday to watch Ben Barba’s comeback from suspension.
My gut feeling is no, and a golden chance has been missed to give the troubled Wallaby a psychological lift.
Barba and Beale are two kindred spirits. Talented; troubled.
A month ago Barba was suspended indefinitely by the Bulldogs when he ended his long-term relationship with Ainslie Currie, the mother of his two kids, and was on a drinking binge and gambling.
Last week Beale was suspended indefinitely by the ARU for punching his Rebels skipper Gareth Delve, and winger Cooper Vuna who came to Delve’s assistance.
The blow-ups followed a drinking session after the Rebels’ thumping 64-7 loss to the Sharks at Durban.
Beale, who is still nursing a broken hand, didn’t play in the record loss, so why was he there in the first place?
Matters not now. What does matter is that Beale is given the same solid support the Bulldogs have given Barba.
“We need to protect Ben Barba the person, and not Ben Barba the player,” Bulldogs boss Todd Greenberg said at the time.
“It may take six weeks, it may take six months – however long it takes to get Ben right”.
It’s taken exactly a month, and what a spectacular comeback by Ben Barba at ANZ Stadium yesterday.
There was a regular round record crowd of 51,636, evenly split between the Dogs and Rabbitoh supporters.
But they were all on the feet welcoming back the very popular Dally M medalist, and Barba responded by clapping above his head to all parts of the stadium.
It sent shivers up the spine.
Fans warm to players who beat whatever troubles them, and that’s exactly what Ben Barba did yestreday,
And for his sake, the sake of the Bulldogs, and rugby league, that Barba stays on top of it.
The Dogs are no chance of winning the premiership without him. And while he was heavily marked, Barba still managed to sneak past the first and second tackles, the kid is freakish.
And just as the full-time siren was about the sound off, Barba crossed the white line, and that big smile returned.
The perfect end to a non-perfect day with the Rabbitohs running out 17-12 winners in a game full of interest, even outside Barba.
The reasons why the Rabbitohs won – giant full-back Greg Inglis is one of the game’s all-time greats, Sam Burgess is a powerhouse up front, and how half Adam Reynolds, and winger Nathan Merritt, haven’t won NSW Origin honours defies description.
But the afternoon was all about Ben Barba, and his successful comeback. All credit to him, and the Dogs’ management.
Whether we can say the same about Kurtley Beale sooner than later, remains to be seen.
If I was Beale, I would be heading for Belmore and a long chat with his kindred spirit.