Fear for Ben Barba's mental state forced Todd Greenberg's hand CANTERBURY'S major sponsor, Gary Johnston, has pledged to continue his support of the club, revealing then-chief executive Todd Greenberg's handling of the Ben Barba situation was affected by concerns over the fullback's mental health. Johnston, whose company Jaycar Electronics has stood by the club through some dark days, acknowledged he would speak to Canterbury officials over allegations Barba punched his estranged partner, Ainslie Currie, in the face earlier this year. However, he said he would be extremely surprised if that prompted him to rethink his long-time backing of the club because he believed Canterbury had acted with the best interests of all parties at heart. "It's true that I was close to the club at the time Ben Barba was going through his personal crisis," Johnston said. I thought that Todd did a pretty good job in managing that. Let's not forget the focus at the time was on Ben Barba and the crisis he was going through. These kids are under an enormous amount of pressure to perform on the paddock and then behave like Nathan Hindmarsh off the paddock. Not everyone is an ornament to the game like Nathan. When I was a teenager I did bloody awful things but got away with them because no one knew who I was. There were some very serious questions about him (Barba) putting himself to self-harm at this point. He was on suicide watch back then. I was fully aware of that and that was the focus of a lot of people's concerns. Barba has since returned to the Canterbury fold but injury has sidelined him in recent weeks. It is understood a fitness test later this week will determine whether he takes his place on Thursday night against Brisbane, the club he will join next season. His return could also hinge on the outcome of the investigation by the NRL integrity unit into the Bulldogs' handling of the situation earlier this year when Greenberg, now the NRL's head of football, was at the helm. "I am going to have a word to the Dogs about this and say is there any way this could have been handled better," Johnston said. You can only come out of these things with a bit of introspection. But what I would really love ... would be to see him and his partner get back together and the little girls grow up with their dad. I feel sorry for the whole lot of them. At this stage I am solid with the Dogs. I am even loath to talk to Todd about it because he has moved on. I really find it difficult to criticise him over this period when the focus was very much on Ben Barba's wellbeing. The integrity unit might find there was a cover-up ... but whether that's strong enough for me to make a decision about my relationship (with the club) I would be very surprised. Because my relationship with Canterbury is very, very strong.