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Opinion
It might well break the hearts of Knights fans, but Mitch Barnett is going to look bloody good in the green and gold.
From the moment he arrived in Newcastle in 2016, with just two NRL appearances off the bench for Canberra to his name, it was obvious the Wingham Tigers junior was not inclined to take a backward step.
In one of his first games for his new club, the young upstart rattled Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita with a shoulder charge and shaped up when Sharks skipper Paul Gallen took exception.
Barnett was subsequently suspended for the hit on Fifita, which became something of a recurring theme during his seven rollercoaster seasons in Newcastle.
But if he was once perceived to be a loose cannon – in particular after an elbow to the head of Penrith back-rower Chris Smith that led to a six-week ban in 2022 – Barnett has come of age since joining the Warriors two years ago, as evidenced by his elevation to the captaincy at the back end of this season.
Older and wiser he may be, but in the absence of pack leaders Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga will be relying on Barnett to provide some muscle and mongrel during the Pacific Championships, which kick off on Friday when Australia clash with Tonga at Suncorp Stadium.
The Mate Ma’a boast a formidable pack, spearheaded by Addin Fonua-Blake, Jason Taumalolo and Haumole Olakau’atu, and Barnett’s presence on the bench will allow Meninga to keep fighting fire with fire long after the opening onslaught.
It would seem safe to say that when the Knights parted company with Barnett at the end of the 2022 season, they weren’t expecting him to be representing NSW and Australia any time soon.
Otherwise they might have tried harder to keep him.
Negotiations to extend his stay broke down in controversial circumstances, and Warriors coach Nathan Brown pounced to lure the man he had brought to Newcastle six years earlier across the ditch.
As it panned out, Barnett’s hopes of reuniting with his former boss were scuppered when little-known Andrew Webster was hired as Brown’s replacement, in what, with the benefit of hindsight, has proven a blessing in disguise.
One of Webster’s first moves was to switch Barnett from the back row to prop, where he proved the perfect foil for Fonua-Blake.
Mitch Barnett looks to offload. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Barnett’s ability to play on the edge or in the middle earned him an Origin debut in NSW’s series-deciding win against Queensland, and now his first Test jersey, at the age of 30.
The Novocastrian faithful, meanwhile, have been left wondering why a Knights junior, who appeared in 126 first-grade games and won two Danny Buderus Medals as player of the year, has delivered the best football of his career since leaving the club.
His selection in the Test team is a reminder that no Newcastle player has played for Australia since Dane Gagai in 2017, although Bradman Best – an unused member of Meninga’s squad for the Tonga clash – should redress that in the next few weeks.
In Gagai’s case, Knights fans were more inclined to shed a tear than celebrate a career highlight, because while Newcastle was the club in brackets alongside his name, the Queensland Origin outside back had already logged off after signing a four-year contract with South Sydney.
In other words, while officially Gagai became the 20th Knight to wear the green and gold, all that did was remind the club’s long-suffering fans of what they were losing.
Given that Newcastle, at the time, had just collected a third consecutive wooden spoon, it was one last kick in the guts, and a reminder of their lowly position in the pecking order.
Gagai did at least return to the Knights four years later, but there appears little chance of Barnett doing likewise, after he recently re-signed with the Warriors until the end of 2027.
Only Barnett and Newcastle’s powers-that-be will know what went down behind the scenes, and it can always be argued that it was a change of environment, a fresh challenge, which helped him realise his potential.
But the bottom line is that he has not just proved his worth, he’s proved a point.
Knights fans can only hope Bradman Best helps scratch their seven-year itch.
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