Former Dally M medal winner says football is not everything to him.
Ben Barba has revealed he would have walked away from rugby league if he former partner and their children had moved to an area with no NRL team.
The revelation comes as Barba says the move from Canterbury to the Brisbane Broncos from next year was the toughest he has made in his career.
Underlying the move is not about money, Barba will earn a reported $300,000 a season with the Broncos for three years, close to his current deal with the Bulldogs.
On top of that Barba said to be an active parents in his children’s lives was the most important thing when deciding the next step in his career.
“My ex-partner has a lot of family and friends there (in Brisbane) ad luckily she move there, it wasn’t really my choice,” Barba said.
“If she had of moved to Perth I probably would be sitting out now and not playing rugby league now and I would have to go and try out with West Coast (Eagles in the AFL).”
Barba’s move north of the border has caused ripples of discontent from Josh Hoffman, who took to social media to express his frustration at Barba potentially taking his fullback slot.
Hoffman hinted at possible opting out of his contract early which ends in 2015, however, Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin said Barba is not a lock to play number one, despite it being his best position on the field.
He’s got the ability to play in a lot of positions,” Griffin said.
“He has the ability to play five-eighth or in the halves.”
Hoffman’s manager Paul Hogan said his client was holding off on signing a new deal with Brisbane to enable him time to see how the situation with Barba joining the team pans out.
“The Broncos have mentioned extending Josh’s contract but we have to take a wait-and-see approach,” Hogan said.
“It is no secret Ben Barba was coming to the Broncos (but) he’s a fullback and Josh sees himself as a fullback.
“Josh is a team player but if he has to go back to the wing, I guess that would be a slap in the face.
“In an ideal world, Josh would play fullback but he has his heart set on playing 100 games for the Broncos.
“He will get on the plane for the World Cup (in October) and after that he will consider his position at the club.”
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