FORMER ST HELENS star Ben Barba has revealed that he was close to signing for two Super League rivals.
Barba lit up the UK shores in the 18 months that he was in Super League, joining Saints towards the back end of the 2017 season.
The Dally M Medal winner went on to win the Man of Steel in 2018, but he has now revealed that in the period before signing for the Merseyside club, he had offers from two other Super League sides.
“They had the Magic Weekend over there up in Newcastle and I flew over,” Barba said on the Yeah Nice Sports podcast.
“My manager was over there, but a couple of clubs flew me over to meet with them: there was Catalans, Warrington and St Helens.”
Barba went on to explain why he chose Saints over the two other clubs.
“I chose St Helens because being a footy tragic, everything about it was right. There was Sean Long, Paul Wellens.
“I had watched them early on in Australia and they all worked at the club. I was there supposedly to meet clubs, my manager was over there because it is a big weekend with the Magic Weekend.
“I was sitting in the crowd, I was in the VIP area having pints. I was sat there with English legends.
“They sat down and we were just smashing pints and I was like I’ve already made my mind up.”
Barba became a cult hero on the terraces of the Totally Wicked Stadium, scoring 34 tries in 34 appearances in his 18-month period in Super League.
