Fans of the Knights may be heartbroken, but Mitch Barnett will look amazing in green and gold.
Despite just making two NRL games off the bench for Canberra, it was clear from the off that the Wingham Tigers junior was not going to back down when he moved to Newcastle in 2016.
During his debut match for his new team, the youthful talent startled Cronulla forward Andrew Fifita with a powerful shoulder charge and showed maturity when Sharks captain Paul Gallen took offense.
After the incident on Fifita, Barnett was suspended; this was to become somewhat of a repeating theme during his seven turbulent seasons at Newcastle.
Although Barnett was once thought of as a loose cannon, especially after elbowing Penrith back-rower Chris Smith in the head, which resulted in a six-week suspension in 2022, Barnett has matured since joining the Warriors two years ago, as shown by his promotion to captain at the end of this season.
Though he may be older and wiser now, Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga will be depending on Barnett to bring some bulk and mongrel during the Pacific Championships, which begin on Friday at Suncorp Stadium with Australia versus Tonga. Pack leaders Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui are not available.
With Addin Fonua-Blake, Jason Taumalolo, and Haumole Olakau’atu leading the Mate Ma’a’s powerful pack, Meninga will be able to continue fighting fire with fire long after the initial onslaught thanks to Barnett’s bench presence.
It seems reasonable to assume that the Knights didn’t anticipate Barnett representing NSW or Australia very soon when they parted ways with him at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.
They could have made a stronger effort to retain him if not.
After contentious negotiations to prolong his stay broke down, Warriors coach Nathan Brown seized the opportunity to entice the guy he had brought to Newcastle six years prior across the border.
As things turned out, Barnett’s dreams of getting back together with his old boss were dashed when obscure Andrew Webster was brought in to take Brown’s place—a move that, looking back, has turned out to be a godsend.
Barnett was moved from the back row to the prop, one of Webster’s first moves, and he proved to be the ideal counterpoint for Fonua-Blake.
Barnett, who is 30 years old, made his Origin debut in NSW’s series-deciding victory over Queensland thanks to his versatility as a player. He is currently wearing his first Test jersey.
Meanwhile, the Novocastrian supporters are perplexed as to why a junior Knights player who participated in 126 first-grade games and was named player of the year twice has played the finest football of his career since leaving the team.
Given that Bradman Best was left off of Meninga’s squad for the Tonga match, Bradman Best’s selection in the Test team serves as a reminder that no Newcastle player has represented Australia since Dane Gagai in 2017. However, that should change in the coming weeks.
As for Gagai, while Newcastle was the team in brackets next to his name, the Queensland Origin outside back had already logged out after agreeing to a four-year deal with South Sydney, so Knights supporters were more likely to cry than celebrate a career high point.
Put another way, even though Gagai formally became the 20th Knight to don the green and gold, that merely served to serve as a reminder to the club’s long-suffering supporters of what they were losing.
It was a final kick in the gut and a reminder of Newcastle’s inferior status in the hierarchy, especially since they had recently won their third straight wooden spoon.
Four years later, Gagai did at least rejoin the Knights, but Barnett recently re-signed with the Warriors through the end of 2027, so it doesn’t seem likely that he will do the same.
What happened behind the scenes will only be known by Barnett and Newcastle’s higher-ups, although it can always be claimed that a new task and atmosphere helped Barnett reach his full potential.
Ultimately, though, he has demonstrated not only his value but also a point.
Fans of the Knights can only hope that Bradman Best satisfies their seven-year itch.
