Shane Flanagan has landed in the deep end in his second coming as a coach – but it's hard not to think he is well prepared to handle anything that comes his way after almost a year out of the game.

His first major test will be integrating Ben Barba into the Sharks club – his second will be making sure that the mental health of his captain and most important player, Paul Gallen, is not an issue and that Andrew Fifita is stable after his time in rehab. The Sharks are aware they are taking on more than a "footballer" when it comes to Barba.

"We are taking Ben's situation very seriously ...  in fact we have a few players in that category," Flanagan said.  "Player welfare is an absolute priority and we have plans in place for him and other players at the club."  The Sharks really did their research before signing Barba – they spoke with Anthony Griffin, Des Hasler and Michael Ennis about signing him. None had a negative word about him.

The chat with Barba was comprehensive and he was very frank with all he spoke to at Cronulla. Some honesty around the Barba situation will be appreciated in his new life at the Sharks – the  spin surrounding the drama  and his exit from the Bulldogs was hard to cop at the time but even more difficult to swallow now that he is back in Sydney at the Sharks.

You'll remember the story – there were allegations that Barba and his partner Ainslie Currie were involved in a domestic – denied at the time. The Bulldogs boss at the time, Todd Greenberg, even arranged for Ainslie to ring me and talk to me on day one of the drama when the rumours were rife.

I took the phone call in the park outside of Belmore Sports Ground and listened to her tell me the story was false.  Instead we were told there were gambling and alcohol issues and he was going to rehab.

The couple's relationship was the main concern – that is without a doubt.  That may explain why Barba was in rehab for closer to three minutes than three weeks.

And you'll remember rumours then started that there was a photo of an injured Currie – and that it was in the possession of News Limited. I asked Greenberg about it – and he said he knew of the possible existence of that photo – but he had never seen it.

It was eventually published – shortly after Barba was released at a $300,000 fee to the Broncos.  We were then told that Currie wanted to move to Brisbane and that Barba had to follow. It was backed up by the Dogs' website – Barba in full praise of Greenberg and coach Hasler.

"These guys not only saved my footy career but my life," Barba said. "When I was struggling there at the start of the year these two stuck beside me and kept me at this club and helped me get my feet back on the ground. I can't be thankful enough for what they've done."

Barba also thanked new chief executive Raelene Castle for her role in organising his release to the Broncos.

"[My children are] the reason why I do this, it's to be able to support them and give them everything they want," Barba said. "I said from the start it would be very difficult for me to stay down in Sydney and continue to play my football knowing that they're up there.  I'm very thankful to the club and everyone involved for understanding that and allowing me to be closer to them."

It appears that the couple are in a good place – they've had another child and Ainslie will move to Sydney soon after Barba.

They have a school-age child who is finishing off the school year and will then move down to Sydney.

There have been false reports that the Sharks have told Barba he can't live in the Cronulla area – presumably because of his links with a bunch of party boys who liked to call themselves the Epic Bender Crew. The Sharks say that Barba is free to live where he wants – he has told them it won't be in the heart of Cronulla.

Barba is sure to get plenty of support from Daly Cherry-Evans and his young family. He stayed at his place last weekend when he was in Sydney to talk through the final details of the Sharks deal.

Fresh start for Carney

Todd Carney left for his new life in France on Saturday night.  He said his family farewells during the week – but he made a special trip to Sydney to see Roosters chairman Nick Politis. You may think that odd, given he was released from the Roosters, but Politis never wanted Carney to leave. It was coach Brian Smith and CEO Steve Noyce who wanted him gone. Politis has always had a soft spot for him.

Smith clears air

Since this column asked last Sunday why Kirisome Auva'a was allowed to play this season and Blake Ferguson wasn't, a lot has happened. There was a campaign to ensure that justice which wasn't done initially was finally taken care of.  An indefinite ban is spot on – but what was gnawing at this column  was the consistency. Ferguson's actions resulted in an immediate ban; Auva'a has a premiership ring. He enjoyed the rarest of joys in an NRL player's career – he partied in the days after and even went away with some of his Souths teammates to Las Vegas. All along he has been telling people that he "only pushed" the female in question. He was of the view that the media were out to get him during the year. He is delusional on both counts. I asked for an explanation, given the difference in punishments for two offences against women. And why Paul Gallen would get a fine for using a totally unacceptable word. "Each case needs to be looked at individually because there are a lot of facts that don't come into the public domain," NRL chief executive Dave Smith said.

"In Ferguson's case he was stood down because he breached his drinking ban and was thrown out of a nightclub by a bouncer ... the criminal proceedings followed ... you take the Gallen case, that's about a very senior player making a very serious breach of the code of conduct ...  Auva'a's was a work in progress and all of the facts only really emerged at the end of last week. I can understand that people find it confusing. As a game we are a proxy for society ...  these issues are never black and white. It's a balance between doing the right thing and respecting the rights of the individual. I see a lot of these come across my desk and they are all different  and you need to be careful not to overreact or underreact."

Poser for Graham

Sharks players are still discussing what they can do  when it comes to taking action against the club for the 2011 Stephen Dank era which resulted in their reputations being forever soiled. Word in legal circles is that Wade Graham has been considering his options – what may hold him back is the fact he has a rich three-year deal with the Sharks. Graham would have no trouble finding another club if it ever came to that – but chairman Damian Keogh is of the view that players won't sue the club. The club is insured so the fight would then turn into  a court battle between the players and the insurance company.

Cap and cost

Richie Benaud has done plenty to raise skin cancer awareness by telling of his battle with the disease. Steve Waugh has been doing the rounds to heighten awareness as well. Interesting with Waugh is his love of the baggy green cap – something which he defined and brought attention to with his insistence on wearing a dilapidated cap has led to problems for him, too. The limited coverage the baggy green gives from the sun means any skin issues Waugh has are in the area of his face just past the line of coverage  the cap gave him.

Mundine's guru sets his sights on reviving ailing Hewitt

American Mitch Ross is the controversial sports performance guru who played a role in the Rabbitohs' premiership win and the unexpected Anthony Mundine victory during the week.

He now has set his sights on a different Australian sports star, who, like Mundine, is in the twilight of his career.

"If there is one sportsman I'd really like to help in Australia, it would be Lleyton Hewitt," he said. "If I got my hands on Lleyton, he would win the Australian Open this year. I have no doubt about that."

When Ross first met with Souths coach Michael Maguire, he told him he would win the competition — and, when I interviewed him in the days before the Mundine fight, he had no doubt that he would triumph. "I know how good my protocol is," he said.

For those who don't know, he uses performance chips that he sticks to athletes' bodies, a liquid cooling system that is sprayed on the athletes and inner soles that work on pressure points. For Mundine, he also used his spray made with deer antler — called Jacked.

It's the same spray that led to Vijay Singh having a legal battle with the USPGA — which he won — and it was used by NFL star Ray Lewis. It is World Anti-Doping Agency approved.

Here is an outline of what Mundine did pre-fight:

9pm: Performance water sips every five minutes.

9.30: 10 sprays of Jacked.

10pm: Performance chip placement. Two chips inside of each wrist, one chip on outside of each upper thigh, one chip on each inside ankle two inches above ankle bone. Chips in shoes —  four performance and two pain each shoe. Pre-cool body about 30 minutes before fight/15 minutes before warm-up.

Interestingly Souths have ditched Ross — and, worse than that, he has not been paid the $50,000 they agreed as a fee.

"I've not got a penny from them," he said. "Madge agreed to pay that and to endorse what we did with public praise ... I get the feeling that his hands are tied. I'm not angry with Madge — he is a good man, but I don't like working for free. I am a common man — I have a wife and kids and I can't afford not to be paid."

Danny Weidler is a Channel Nine reporter