Barba signs for Broncos

Brisbane have signed Canterbury full-back Ben Barba on three-year contract from next season.

Barba, 24, has been granted a release from his Bulldogs contract for what the Broncos have described as a ‘reasonable but certainly not excessive’ compensation fee.

He will also be on the same contract he would have been on at Canterbury for 2014 and 2015.

Brisbane chief executive Paul White further explained the deal:

“Effectively Ben comes to our club and plays under the same terms and conditions he would have been under had he stayed at the Bulldogs.

“I want to say that because it is important to know these negotiations at their core have not been based on financial considerations.

“What’s played a heavy role obviously is the commitment Ben to his family, his children and a desire to come back to Queensland, and also to play for our club.”

White also added that the Bulldogs had been gracious in their negotiations, despite huge outside external pressures.

“We’d like to thank the Bulldogs for the way they have conducted themselves,” he said.

“As you know this has been played out heavily in the media that has added some pressure to those discussions.

“At the end of the day we took a considered and measured approach to it.

The Broncos have not dealt directly with Barba until the last week, after Canterbury formally gave him permission for a release.