Ben Barba case a watershed for indigenous players ARL Indigenous Council chair Linda Burney has described the Ben Barba case as a watershed moment that could haunt the code unless it is addressed properly. Burney weighed into the controversy yesterday as Canterbury coach Des Hasler said he was comfortable with the way the Bulldogs had handled the matter and Barba made the trip with the team to Brisbane in a sign he is ready to return from an ankle injury against the Broncos tonight. Burney, the first Aboriginal person to serve in the NSW parliament, is seeking a meeting with NRL chief executive Dave Smith so that lessons that come out of the Barba incident are not allowed to fade into the background. She said the cases of Barba, Parramatta halfback Chris Sandow and North Queensland No 7 Robert Lui highlighted the problems of gambling, alcohol and domestic violence experienced by some indigenous players. "When you look at the guys who have experienced trouble in the past few years over these sorts of issues, whether we like it or not they are usually Aboriginal guys," Burney said. It's time to talk about where these kids come from. They come in the main from extreme inter-generational violence and unemployment and poverty. To me the most important thing to discuss now is the baggage these young men are carrying with them very heavily. They then come into fame and fortune as NRL stars. Trying to marry up those two realities is almost impossible for these kids. That's what the NRL needs to work on, to find ways to help these guys early in their careers before things get too much. Hasler and former Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg have become pivotal figures into an NRL investigation that emerged after a photograph was published on Sunday showing a woman's bloodied face. It was alleged Barba assaulted his partner, Ainslie Currie, in February. It has been alleged Greenberg and Hasler encouraged Currie several times to take her complaint to the police but she refused, saying was only seeking help for Barba. The Bulldogs stood Barba down for three games and checked him into a private health clinic for gambling and alcohol-related problems but Greenberg has repeatedly denied there was any issue of domestic violence. The matter is now being investigated by Sydney barrister Tony Bannon SC on behalf of the NRL's Integrity Unit and there is speculation Greenberg is under pressure to retain his job as the NRL's Head of Football for covering up the incident. "I'm very comfortable with the procedure that the club has taken," Hasler said. Obviously the alleged photo is disturbing but at the same time the club has never received any complaint or any plaintiff in relation to that allegation. At the time when she (Currie) came to us to speak she was looking for support. I'm very comfortable with the procedures that we had in place and the outcome that we did. Barba has not played for the Bulldogs since injuring his ankle against Parramatta in July. Since then he has sought and been granted a release to join the Broncos from next season in order to follow Currie and their two children to Brisbane. The Bulldogs fullback eluded the media after jumping off the bus and bounding up the escalator at Sydney airport yesterday but captain Michael Ennis maintained he was yet to recover. He's certainly trained in the rehab group with a really good attitude and ... played really well at different stages throughout the season so if he was available to play for some reason, no doubt he'd fit in.