Ben Barba 'surprised' by form in 30 minute cameo as Sea Eagles down Sharks
source :Brisbane Times
Date
February 7, 2015 - 6:49PM
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Michael Carayannis
Rugby League Writer
Ben Barba surprised himself after a solid 30-minute cameo where he showed enough to suggest Cronulla's attacking woes may be behind them.
Barba – who had shed three kilograms - didn't enter the fray until the second half in Cronulla's 42-22 trial loss against Manly in front of about 2000 fans at Pittwater Park on Saturday, but helped the side come back from a 30-6 half-time deficit.
"I was surprised how well I got through it," Barba said. "It was exciting to get out in the Sharks jersey for the first time. It's something different, this is my third club in three years. I was happy to get through this game with a lot of key players missing."
Aside from one error as he tried to play the ball, Barba seemed at ease in his new colours. The former Bronco showed the ball twice before getting tackled with his opening touch. He laid on one try with a well-timed crossed field kick finding a leaping Jacob Gagan in the corner.
"We always knew we would be the halves pairing so we got together quite a lot in team drills," Barba said. "His job is to organise and my job is to run off the back of him. I worked pretty hard with everyone at the club on my game and dropped weight - trying to get real fit.
"It's good to fell fast and nippy again."
Back-rower Anthony Tupou and David Fifita were strong for the Sharks while if the Sharks can find extended minutes out of 115 kilogram forward Saulala Houma, the new recruit could prove to be a handful.
Perhaps more impressive than Barba's performance was the return to form of Tupou. The former Test backrower's trademark offload was back and he looked untroubled by recent injury woes. His combination with Barba on the right edge wreaked havoc for Manly, with the duo combining to send Michael Gordon over the tryline.
Life without brother Glenn didn't seem to bother Brett Stewart, who looked zippy from fullback against a Cronulla side missing a host of stars including Paul Gallen, Luke Lewis and Michael Ennis while Manly played minus Kieran Foran and Steve Matai.
The much-talked about new interpretation on releasing the player was barely noticeable with only a handful amount of penalties awarded.
Manly coach Geoff Toovey said it was an encouraging game for his side.
"When they put their better quality on they will be a force," Toovey said. "It was a good hit out for us. They had a lot of possession in the second half.
"It was good for our blokes to be put under some match fatigue."
By the time the likes of Willie Mason, Feleti Mateo, Luke Burgess and David Williams took to the field, the Sea Eagles already had a 12-0 advantage after the first quarter.
The Sharks fielded a largely second string first half squad, made up mostly of players from feeder club Newtown Jets. The addition of NRL experience immediately saw the pace of the game change. Jayden Hodges was strong, scoring two almost identical tries from dummy half under the posts.
Gagen and Jayson Bukuya left the field with hamstring strains.
Sea Eagles 42: Tries: Jayden Hodges 2, Tony Satini, Dominic Reardon, Willie Mason, Ligi Sao, David Williams G: Manaia Rudolph 3, Kurt Aldridge 2, David Williams 2.
Sharks 22: Tries: Jacob Gagan 2, Leonati Feilokitau, Michael Gordon. G: Michael Gordon 2, Todd Murphy,
