MARSHALL Barker isn’t the biggest prop you’d ever see run on but the Moree Boar will give his Greater Northern Tigers plenty of front row effort tomorrow and then dash home to Moree where his Moree Boars side tackles Warialda Wombats in a Group 19 clash.
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It’s nothing new though.
Last season he played for the Tigers in their win over Western at Scone and then made a mad dash back to Gunnedah where he also played for his then North Tamworth Bears in a Group 4 clash against the Bulldogs at Kitchener Park.
“It’s not as hectic this year,” Barker laughed on Tuesday night at a training session for the Tigers in Werris Creek..
“I have a bit more time although it is a bit longer of a trip from Bathurst to Moree.”
Marshall, 30, was talking after completing the Tigers’ training session in Werris Creek and then driving back to Moree to work as a painting contractor with his father Alex.
Last season he captained the Bears to a Group 4 premiership and the Clayton Cup.
This season he’s with the Boars and part of a team under Trevor Tighe that is currently equal second on the G19 ladder with the Moree Boomerangs and just a win behind competition leaders Inverell Hawks.
“I’m enjoying it too,” he said.
“The Boars are going well. We’ve got a good side, especially with Brenton there.”
Brenton is the richly talented and excitingly quick Brenton Cochrane.
Last week he scored two tries late in the game to help the Boars beat an improved and tough Ashford Roosters.
“The boys look up to him,” Barker said.
“He can pluck anything out of the air and get you out of trouble.
“We should go all right though as long as the young players in the side can lift.”
While Sunday’s Warialda game holds interest, he’s looking forward to another outing with the Tigers.
“It’s my third year,” he said.
“I reckon this might be the best side I’ve played in.”
He thinks the talents of West Lions half Matty Nean might be a major spark for the side.
“There’s a bit of freakiness there,” he said.
“Plus we’ve got a bigger forward pack that is very mobile. They’re all fit too.”
Barker is not the only Tiger rushing home to play for his club side this weekend.
Gunnedah and Narrabri coaches Trent Hilton and Lachlan Cameron are also caught up in a busy weekend.
Teammates tomorrow, they are opponents on Sunday in a big Group 4 derby game at Collins Park.
Hilton and Bulldogs teammate Aaron Donnelly hope to come through unscathed to tackle Cameron and his Blues at Collins Park on Sunday.
