The Northern Territory news Tue 26 Feb 2013
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2013-02-26
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
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Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/244216
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/596228
38 NT NEWS. Tuesday, February 26, 2013. www.ntnews.com.au P U B : N T N E W S D A T E : 2 6 -F E B -2 0 1 3 P A G E : 3 8 C O L O R : C M Y K 1080127v7FOOTROT FLATS SPORT l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l ntnews.com.au An Epic fall from grace A picture taken from the Fox Sports promotional campaign for the 2013 NRL season which used Ben Barba as the leading man RUGBY LEAGUE By JOSHMASSOUD THEYRE proudly known as the Epic Bender Crew, a tight-knit band of party-hard Gen Y mates who binge their way through most weekends. And just before Christmas last year, Ben Barba decided to join them. Barbas association with the Cronulla-based group, known locally and online as EBC, provides plenty of clues as to why he could no longer be the games clean-skinned poster boy. While a painful split with childhood sweetheart, Ainslie Currie, and problem gambling are the other significant reasons, excessive drinking and partying have conspired to trigger the downfall of Barba. Those pastimes are also the driving force behind EBCs charter, with the group known around the Sutherland Shire for its extreme commitment to having a real blast. The link to Barba appears to be Daniel Folkes, the son of former Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes. Daniel Folkes also featured on the shortlived TV show The Shire. Barba and Folkes were teammates in Canterburys under-20s team and were photographed together in EBC-themed parties over the Christmas period. Theres also a telling SMS exchange that Folkes posted on his Facebook site, in which Barba pledges to join EBC by getting a tattoo with the groups initials. I think its safe to say you are part of the famous EBC, welcome aboard, Folkes texted on December 14 last year. Thats it, Im getting the tatt, Barba replied. Shortly afterwards Folkes posted another picture, this time of a shirtless Barba getting the initials E-B-C inked on to his lower torso. A close friend of Barba last night said the superstar has toned down his partying with EBC since resuming training last month. He did spend a bit of time with those guys before and after Christmas, the friend said. But theres no suggestion EBC enjoy anything more sinister than having a good time for a long time. Furthermore, Reni Maitua and John Sutton have carved out long careers as members of the Bra Boys, an infinitely more notorious gang. And in the end, Barba will not be cured should he stop drinking or have the EBC tattoo removed. His problems extend back to the split with Currie, his childhood sweetheart from Mackay and the mother of his two baby daughters. Barbas association with EBC occurred around the same time he and Currie ended their eight-year relationship. The couple purchased their first home in Caringbah last year, but Barba didnt move out until early last week. In the first indication that his life was falling apart, Barba requested a few days away from training last week. Canterbury boss Todd Greenberg gave him the green light and was receiving daily updates about Barbas welfare from Currie. Moving out was a big thing, the friend said. Suddenly Ben was on his own and I dont think he expected it to be so hard without the kids. Friends are confident that Barba will be restored once he and Currie patch up their differences. But he also has deeper demons to confront, including a worrying gambling habit. While Greenberg dismissed suggestions that Barba had fallen into debt, Bulldogs insiders have been concerned for some time about the proportion of his salary thats frittered away through TAB terminals and poker machines. He bets on the horses, an inner-city publican said. Meanwhile, Barbas moth er Kim last night said she was confident her son would battle past the serious issues that have put his NRL career in jeopardy. Speaking to The CourierMail from the familys home in Mackay, Kim said she supported the Bulldogs stance in suspending Barba, a ban that could last from six weeks to six months. He hasnt hurt anyone or anything like that, she said. Hes going through some personal problems and they are his to work through. Spin has Aussies reeling towards defeat CRICKET ByPETERBADEL AUSTRALIAs selectors will come under pressure to wield the axe after a top-order collapse yesterday compounded the high-risk strategy to play four quick bowlers on spinfriendly Indian soil. The tourists bowlers were subjected to a day-three mauling at the brutal hands of MS Dhoni (224) and yesterday it was Australias batsmen who felt pain as a first-Test defeat loomed. Only a magnificent unbeaten half-century from debutant Moises Henriques (75) his second of the match spared Australia (9-232) the embarrassment of an innings defeat as Indias walls of spin suffocated the top-order. The home side need just one wicket today after Shane Watson (17), Ed Cowan (32), Phil Hughes (0), David Warner (23) and Matt Wade (8) fell like ten pins to leave Australia reeling at 5-121 yesterday. Ultimately, Henriques led a rescue mission, crunching six fours and two sixes to give Australia a 40-run lead, ensuring India must at least take to the crease again today. Once again, Michael Clarke (31) was charged with saving his country, but not even the skippers Bradman-like form can mask the issues confronting the selection panel on which he sits. The Australians head to Hyderabad tomorrow for the second Test and unless there is drastic change, the BorderGavaskar trophy will be exchanging hands well before the fourth-Test finale. SCOREBOARD Australia 1st innings 380 India 1st Innings MVIJAY b Pattinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 VSEHWAG b Pattinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 C PUJARA b Pattinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 S TENDULKAR b Lyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 VKOHLI c Starc b Lyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 MDHONI not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 R JADEJA b Pattinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 RASHWIN b Lyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 HSINGH b Henriques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 BKUMAR not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Sundries (2b 14lb 3w) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Eightwickets for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 Fall: 11 (Vijay), 12 (Sehwag), 105 (Pujara), 196 (Tendulkar), 324 (Kohli), 365 (Jadeja), 372 (Ashwin), 406 (Singh). Bowling:MStarc 25-3-75-0 (2w), J Pattinson 26-5-89-4 (1w), P Siddle 22-5-61-0, N Lyon 40-1-182-3, MHenriques 17-4-48-1, M Clarke 8-2-25-0, DWarner 3-0-19-0. Batting time: 627mins.Overs: 141. Australia 2nd Innings E COWAN lbw Ashwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 SWATSON c Sehwag b Ashwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 DWARNER lbw Singh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 PHUGHES c Sehwag b Jadeja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 MCLARKE lbw Ashwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 MWADE b Singh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 MHENRIQUES not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 PSIDDLE b Jadeja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 J PATTINSON c Sehwag b Ashwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 MSTARC c Tendulkar b Ashwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 NLYON not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Sundries (15b 2lb) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Ninewickets for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Fall: 34 (Watson), 64 (Cowan), 65 (Hughes), 101 (Warner), 121 (Wade), 131 (Clarke), 137 (Siddle), 161 (Pattinson), 175 (Starc). Bowling: R Ashwin 28-4-90-5, H Singh 27-6-55-2, R Jadeja 26-5-68-2, I Sharma 3-1-2-0. Batting time: 296mins.Overs: 84. Umpires:Marais Erasmus (RSA), Kumar Dharmasena (SRL). MatchReferee: Chris Broad (ENG). Third Umpire:Vineet Kulkarni (IND).