Loading They shouldn’t have been. Barba’s reputation in league circles is questionable, at best. It all stems back to an incident in 2013 and a photo of his partner with a bloody face. Currie denied rumours Barba had assaulted her after photos of her with facial injuries were published. She even hired a lawyer and told then Bulldogs boss Todd Greenberg she wanted nothing to do with the matter. Greenberg, now the NRL chief, took no action against Barba. Greenberg was accused of a cover-up and it earned the administrator the nickname “Teflon Todd”. It’s been the biggest stain on his name. I’ve been told no one was willing to make a complaint at the time and Greenberg was powerless to act. Greenberg organised for me to speak with Currie in 2013. She told me she had no problem with Barba.

Loading It took me a long time to trust and respect Greenberg after the Barba incident. When he got the NRL top job, part of that process was an integrity unit investigation into that incident in 2013. He was cleared and my stance on him softened as a result. My view is he is a good leader of the game and I accept his word, but many in the game still don’t. I’ve been inundated with calls from Greenberg haters from the minute I broke the story about Barba on Friday night.

Barba has pushed Greenberg into the spotlight as the game’s summer of shame rolls on. The NRL boss has been dragged down to the level of a player who has done the wrong thing. He doesn’t want sympathy. He has a thick skin. The only people worth thinking about or feeling for are Currie and Barba’s kids. His violent nature towards his partner is now on film. Joey to see specialist as medical mystery grows League Immortal Andrew Johns had another medical episode while on holiday in New Zealand, and now he is determined to get on top of the issue plaguing him. Johns thought he was “out” for a couple of seconds, but it was closer to 45 seconds. He is a proud father of three, including a newborn, and wants to get his health right for himself and his family.

It’s a health condition that he has been trying to get on top of for a few years now. It seems to be occurring more regularly and is brought on by fatigue. Concerns: Andrew Johns is dealing with an ongoing health issue. Credit:NRL Photos There is a thought it’s a kind of epilepsy, but Johns needs to determine the exact nature of what he is dealing with. He is going to a specialist in Melbourne this week for tests. This column wishes Johns all the best as he sorts his health out.

Loading Go's attack may haunt Tigers You have to admire Marina Go’s passion for her club, but it could have repercussions for Wests Tigers as they try to deal with their latest controversy. Her outburst directed at the NRL when the Tigers were caught breaching the salary cap through a back-door deal with Robbie Farah could prove costly. As we said at the end of last year, the NRL integrity unit rarely gets it wrong. The main criticism of them is that they take forever to finalise some investigations – and they do – but they couldn’t be more thorough.

After they were exposed by the NRL, the Tigers, led by Go, initially said the club would be “vigorously defending” the salary-cap breach allegations. The club was “particularly concerned about the wrongful attack on the integrity” of chief executive Justin Pascoe, Go said. Fast-forward a month and it appears the Tigers have completely changed their tune and now accept the integrity unit’s findings. But they are pleading with the same people they lambasted for the $750,000 fine to be reduced. You wonder how much sympathy the NRL will have for the club? I’m tipping not much.

The Tigers certainly would have been in a better position to argue for leniency if Go had accepted the integrity unit’s findings in the first place. ‘I can handle Fifita’ The first player to call new Sharks coach John Morris was someone many believe is likely to cause him the most problems, Andrew Fifita. Some who don’t know Fifita dismiss him as a troublemaker, but Morris has labelled him as “our leader”, quite the rap in a team that contains premiership-winning skipper Paul Gallen. “I’ve known Andrew since I was at the Tigers ... 10 years ago and he’s got a heart as big as a racehorse,” Morris said. “He loves this club and he has been one of the most impressive players in this off-season.

Loading "He is the lightest he has been in six years and that shows me where his head is at. He is so driven, he is our leader and I want him in my team. The boys love him and when the Sharks are at our best is when Andrew is in a good space. ‘‘I can handle him. With Andrew, he is loyal – he is very, very loyal and once he has got your back he will do anything at all for you. He will keep that trust and that bond intact. "When we played together, he was the front-rower and I was the team’s hooker, and if someone ironed me out in a game I knew that Andrew would look after me in the next set of six. "Hopefully, he will have my back as a coach as well.”

Pulling his weight Greg Inglis is a legend of the game, but it doesn’t mean he can just shrug off criticism. Truth be told, he is a sensitive soul and he has already spent time in a mental health clinic to deal with his issues. Talk of him having gained 15 kilograms during the off-season has left him embarrassed. Souths insiders have told me it’s closer to seven kilograms, which is not that unusual for Inglis after an extended break. Testing time: Greg Inglis leaves the Downing Centre Local Court on January 14. Credit:AAP What has angered Souths is that they know the story has emerged from north of the border.

Inglis’ knee injury is an ongoing issue, but it is no worse than the knee problem Sam Burgess plays with most weeks. Inglis has also been dealing with another grubby report, which has left the NRL fuming. There was an item aimed at a couple of NRL staffers who are in long-term relationships with players. It was somehow suggested that the employees – who surely are allowed to lead normal lives outside their work environment – were doing something wrong by going out with NRL players. In the case of Inglis, he is going through a separation from his wife, Sally, and his kids are living in Brisbane with their mum. Inglis and Sally are sorting through the matter with respect for each other. Inglis has been in a relationship for several months with an NRL employee who works on their events team. Both are single and deserve to be left in peace to pursue their relationship. Marty Taupau not only proudly boasts on social media of being engaged to NRL staffer Michelle Baillie but posts photos of them together. It is hard to see how anyone could take a shot at the loved-up couple.