BEN Barba is ready to jostle with England international Jonny Lomax for the St Helens fullback shirt.

The 28-year-old will make his Super League debut against Wigan next week after a 12-match cocaine ban and has already been informed of his role by coach Justin Holbrook.

“I’m not too sure if he’s given it away yet so I don’t think I can,” Barba said. “Wherever he puts me, I’ll hopefully do a job for the team.”

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Although Barba started out his career at five-eighth with Canterbury in 2008, his career took off following a switch to fullback and he won the Dally M Medal as the NRL player of the year after helping his club reach the 2012 grand final.

“That’s where I’ve had all my success in the past,” he said. “Jonny Lomax has obviously played for his country and done a job here for quite a long time. I’m sure if I’m there or he’s there, we’ll work pretty well together.

“It’s a good headache for the coach to have. It only makes the guys work a bit harder. We’re pushing each other each week to try and get better.”

media_camera Ben Barba says he is ready to jostle with England international Jonny Lomax for the St Helens fullback shirt.

Barba was forced to sit out the first seven matches for his new club after they failed in a bid to overturn the suspension imposed by the NRL and admits he has had time for a period of reflection.

“I’ve had a lot of down time, a lot of thinking about the mistakes I’ve made,” he said. “You play it through your head what might have been if things hadn’t have happened.

“But I’ve got four little girls that keep me on my toes, it’s my family that have probably kept me sane this last 10 months.

“The last few weeks have been tough but I’ve been working pretty hard on the field to get myself ready.”

Barba scored a try in Cronulla’s 14-12 victory over Melbourne in October’s NRL grand final but a month later was released by the club after testing positive for cocaine.

A cross-code move to Toulon failed to work out but Barba has settled so quickly he is already thinking about staying.

“I’ll finish my contract here when I’m 30 and I’ve said it to the guys that, if I’m enjoying it, there’ll definitely be no rush to get back,” Barba added. “I just want to get hopefully six games out of the way, get a full season next year and a full season after that and really put some good performances in. It just felt right to come here and they’ve really embraced me.”