Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin has a host of selection headaches but he’s prepared to stick with his biggest concern – Ben Barba at five-eighth.
Switched from fullback for the first time this NRL season, Barba was mercilessly targeted in the front line of defence by the Warriors who scored three of their four tries through or near his left-side channel on Saturday night.
Brisbane still managed to roll with the punches and survive for a much-needed 28-22 victory at Suncorp Stadium, putting to bed a tumultuous week.
Griffin’s hard-line stance to drop Jack Reed, Daniel Vidot and Corey Oates for a mid-week drinking session was rewarded.
Late wing replacements Lachlan Maranta and Jordan Kahu both impressed, to put forward strong cases to keep their spots for Friday night’s home match against Melbourne.
And Dale Copley, moved from right wing to left centre, was Brisbane’s match-winner with two superb tries in three minutes to give them a six-point lead with 12 minutes left.
But the Warriors got easy pay from attacking the Barba-Copley edge with back-rower Ben Henry the main beneficiary with two tries and two more line breaks.
Barba, the 2012 Dally M winner, has failed to hit any great heights since moving to Brisbane from Canterbury and Griffin finally ran out of patience by returning Josh Hoffman to his preferred position at fullback.
“That’s been a bit patchy for us, that area,” Griffin said.
“We thought we’d have a look the other way.
“It’s still patchy.”
However, Griffin indicated he would keep Barba at five-eighth against the Storm, when Reed, Vidot and Oates will be available again.
The return of Reed would certainly help the diminutive Barba in defence on the left side.
“We probably missed Jack’s defence on that edge a little bit at times but Dale learned and it was a terrific attacking display by him in that second half,” said Griffin.
The selection dilemma is compounded by the fact Maranta, who was brilliant under the high ball, would lose his place if Copley was moved back to the wing.
Scrubbit
Guest
I think it'd be the latter. He's never struck me as a daring coach unless absolutely desperate.
ferret
Guest
Yeah, but, if it took him three years to learn how to tackle then either Hunt is a very slow learner or, Hook is a very hard maker and/or super conservative.
Scrubbit
Guest
That's what I mean though. He had him going on at 9 to improve his D. He's got a great defensive read about him now and pulls off he's fair share of try savers.
ferret
Guest
He played for three years as replacement hooker in the guts tackling the big forwards so Hook's concerns about his defence seem a bit contradictory. Besides for the previous two years the main problem with the Broncos was scoring points. Hunt has addressed that. A team needs a balance of defensive and attacking players.
Scrubbit
Guest
To be fair on Griffin. He did say he wouldn't be putting Hunt into a starting role until his defence improved.
ferret
Guest
Barba is lucky to be getting a run anywhere in the team. Hoffman's defence at fullback against the Warriors was great. He also looked so much safer under the high ball than Barba. Hook is a very stubborn / conservative coach. It was obvious early in the year that Barba at 1 and Hoffman at 6 was not working but he took until round 19 to make a change. Same as the Wallace / Prince experiment last year where he waited until Round18 to change and in the meantime lost Norman. It was also Hook who played Hunt as an interchange hooker for 10 to 20 minutes / game for 3 years before he finally replaced Wallace at half-back. Hunt has the best stats for any half-back in the comp in 2014. Hook is being judged by his own decisions.
George
Guest
I wouldn't want Barba in my team. While there are a few teams in the comp that have most of the elite players, it is the heart and determination of most players that make them good players. I don't think Barba puts in for 80 minutes and has a negative influence on his teammates. He has spectacular skills, yes, but I'd rather have guys who put in all the time.