The Cronulla Sharks have re-signed their grand final-winning full-back Ben Barba just two months after his contract was terminated by the rugby league club for testing positive to cocaine.
Barba has signed a one-year contract for the 2017 season, and should the deal be ratified, the Sharks and the NRL integrity unit will determine a time frame for Barba's return to training.
Ben Barba on the burst during Cronulla's grand final win over the Melbourne Storm. Photo: Photosport
Barba will still need to serve the 12-match ban he was handed by the NRL in November as a result of the second positive sample he returned under the league's illicit drug policy.
The earliest he can return to playing duties will be round 13, with the NRL ruling out the prospect that the Auckland Nines and World Club Challenge be counted towards his suspension.
Before approving the contract, the NRL will have to be convinced Barba has been fully rehabilitated since receiving the ban for his second positive test in the space of a year.
Barba headed to Thailand for a four-week stint in a rehabilitation clinic following the handing down of the ban, but his manager claimed at the time the stay was for an anxiety disorder, and not drug related.
The 27-year-old would be on his final drugs warning on his return, with a third breach likely to lead to contract termination as per the NRL's illicit drug policy.
- ABC, AAP
