People have hounded Lomax for the exact same reasons. I'm a massive Barba fan who knows his game inside out because of his NRL career but if you honestly thought he was going to hit the ground running after 11months out then youre deluded.

He is the best option we have at full back. Just like people throw their dummies out the pram when Fages misses out yet starts and absolutely stinks the place out.

The only decison Holbrook has got wrong is Wilkin but you can slowly see Justin is losing faith with Jon, subbed twice tonight.

Giving Matty Lees his debut was brilliant, he was fantastic.

Have been banging on for a couple of weeks to start Barba from the bench, too much of a liability under the high ball. looks good though taking on the defence from 20 metres out with options either side of him.

As i said elsewhere, for me this season is the coach working out what works and what doesnt players and positions wise.

Barba is therefore playing there to get familiar with the players and them with him with a view to next season.

So far he is massively off the pace, and being exposed against bombs. Teams will pepper him.

I was expecting him to be rusty and lacking match fitness,but not so slow.

I'm not bagging barba as I'm big fan, I'm saying he shouldn't be starting at the moment. He's so far off the pace it's unreal. He's lost a good yard of pace, he's nowhere near match fitness and what has it done for the atmosphere in the camp? Lomax can't be happy. Fages must feel very angry . Richardson doesn't know if he's coming or going and I bet Smith aint best pleased.

Without a doubt he should be on the bench. He can't just walk into the team like he has and especially in the condition he's in.

I'm pretty sure barba will come Next season, not this!

Barba is potentially the best signing in SL in years. However, Watching your last couple of games since his inclusion all your hard work and structures have gone down the toilet. Could be a coincidence... but I doubt it. I'm a firm believer that players shouldn't be moved around to accommodate one player and Barba said himself that he's looking forward to competing for his place.
Sadly that spot is his no matter how fit he is, how well he performs or how much it could be upsetting the camp.
That is until he decides that English SL is beneath him.

I hope he is dedicated to your team and to SL and I do hope he becomes good in the end. He will be very good to watch.

The one positive from Barba's physical condition is that he probably knows he is light years away from being a force in the NRL, which could mean he is going to knuckle down and stay in Superleague 2018 as a minimum.

Sam Tomkins is only now coming back to any sort of decent performance and is still a mile off what he used to be. It takes time to get the right conditioning back and he's been out longer than Tomkins. If you don't play, no amount of gym work can recreate that. He had 9 months of barely playing in Union, being told to stay away from training, then a few months where he was between clubs, then the ban.

He just needs time and a good pre-season. Dropping him now for Lomax, who is permanently in exactly the same condition as Barba, would be madness.

He has pretty much had a whole year off, give the lad a chance.

Not being funny but I've never seen jonny in that sort of condition and he's been out with very very serious injuries.

In fact, ive never seen a back in this sort of condition he's in. It must me embarrassing for him tbh. He still couldn't get his breath on the screen with jon wells after the game.

Why would it be madness to drop him to the bench now? Amor was dropped for poor performances. Richardson and fages was dropped and was playing well. Peyroux dropped regular.

He's just to unfit and a liability at the moment, we need to put him on the bench and get a fit player in lomax in the team. Would lomax have stopped Tuopu? Yes. Would lomax take the high balls? Yes. That is what has put us under pressure for top 4.

We can't sacrifice our whole year to get barba match fit for few games for him to lose it again when he goes back to oz. What's the point in that?

He can come again next year and hopefully with fell pre season will be more fit.

We sacrificed our whole year in April mate.

We clawed it back. It was in our hands but the Wigan game was must win. Imo if we'd beat Wigan we would made 4th spot..

It was in our own hands

No pal it would be in our own hands had we no drew 16 all with Hudds despite being 16 nill up. Or getting beat by both Wakefield and Hull at home when none of the team (including Lomax) could not catch a ball for the life of them.

You dont drop Barba because he droped 2 balls and got outpaced for a try.

He's been awful lol. I'm big fan of his but Jesus he's been dire. I've never seen a player as unfit and off the pace. He's dropped more than two high balls in last two games, he's also not gone for kicks wicm was his to take and let's not forget the pass in first 10 mins against Wigan which gildart scored. It was embarrising seeing tupou skin him.

The whole spine has been affected. He should have been on the bench both games. He s not earned the right to take lomax spot. Him taking lomax spot meant we lost fages from the 17 who is one of the very few players that can attack. I bet lomax and fages was well pi$$ed off.

Salford and hudds will absolutely hammer him with high kicks in the next two games. Chris Chester picked it up from just seeing him against Wigan in one. I said to my mate at the Wigan game if I was playing for Wigan id kick barba and grace to death as both can't take high balls and barba doesn't want to.

Do you not think barba confidence will suffer from him playing and being totally unfit? So far he's been skinned by Tuopu and been a nightmare on high kicks. He will know teams will kick him to death and I bet he dreads the last tackle.

A Wigan fan who works for me said he looks like a poor man's matty Bowen.

I think he will come good but not this year and getting him fit this year is waste of time as only 2 games to go. Playing to learn how to play with his halves is waste of time as he's already had lomax, fages, Smith and Richardson playing with him so not going to get a good partnership there.

Most saints fans say get shut of lomax as he's lost all his pace but I'd put money on him beating barba so why not drop barba to Bench ? Is it because he's a big name? Is it because he won dally M back in 2012? Personally reps and what players did years ago count for nothing if unfit like he is.

THIS