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Showcase ... Ben Barba is making it hard for Queensland selectors to ignore him. Source: Dave Hunt / AAP
Johnathan Thurston says Queensland selectors can no longer ignore Ben Barba after the dynamic duo combined to catapult the Indigenous All Stars to a commanding 32-6 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
Having terrorised his NRL rivals last year, Barba sprinkled his magic over the code yet again, celebrating a hat-trick of tries in an emphatic statement to Maroons coach Mal Meninga.
It has been a turbulent week for Australian sport amid doping allegations but in Barba, the reigning Dally M Medallist, rugby league has a posterboy for the seductive power of raw, clean-living athleticism.
No amount of peptides could have helped the NRL All Stars thwart Barba, who crossed in the 11th, 20th and 31st minutes to give the Indigenous side their first victory since 2010.
Before a record crowd of 41,021 for the All Stars event, the Indigenous were never headed, winger Reece Robinson delivering the coup de grace with three second-half tries after his side led 18-6 at halftime.
Thurston (head) and Barba (left hamstring) failed to finish the game, but it is understood the injuries are not serious and both will be available for upcoming trials.
Billy Slater may be entrenched in the Queensland No.1 jumper but Maroons pivot Thurston says Barba would relish an Origin breakthrough this season as interchange strike weapon.
Asked if Barba is ready for his Queensland baptism, Thurston said: "You would think so ... a hat-trick tonight on the back of last season, he has a lot of confidence there at the Bulldogs under Des Hasler.
"We have a wealth off talent but he could come off the bench and play a few positions.
"I played a lot of football alongside Billy, he is the best fullback I've seen.
"Benny brings you a different style of fullback but Billy has the (fullback) jersey sewn up for a while.
"But Benny is a tremendous player, no doubt about that, you just give him space and he does the rest."
Indigenous coach Laurie Daley, who could be plotting against Barba as NSW mentor this season, was blown away by Barba's omni-presence.
"Some of the stuff he does is freakish," he said.
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"You can't coach it because it's so natural, guys like Benny are instinctive, when the opportunity comes they seize it and know what option to take."
Asked about the seriousness of Barba's injury, Daley said: "He started to cramp, he didn't feel a tear, he thinks he will be OK."
NRL All Stars coach Wayne Bennett lamented his side's lack of execution as Thurston and Barba feasted on unforced errors.
"There was good skill but ours didn't match theirs," Bennett said.
"The speed it was played at, they handled that well, but we kept ourselves under pressure with the execution.
"Ben (Barba) was always on the ball, that's what he does so well, if the ball is around, he isn't far off it."
NRL skipper Benji Marshall added: "You give too much ball to guys like Thurston, Barba and (Scott) Prince and they will hurt you.
"It was a one-sided night."
Any concerns about the bona fides of the All Stars concept were emphatically dispelled last night.
The litany of stars were reason enough. Factor in a bumper crowd, the type associated with an Origin game at Suncorp, and the case for an All Stars axing must be firmly closed.
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