Big Merv plucks one out of the sky

Merv Hughes is in the right place at the right time to catch a Dave Warner six on day three of the second Test in Hyderabad.

Merv Hughes took a great catch in the crowd during the second Test between Australia and India in Hyderabad. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis Source: Herald Sun

MERV Hughes retired from Test cricket long ago but you can't keep a good big man down.

When Australia's opening batsman David Warner hit a six at Hyderabad in the second Test against India today, the last person he expected to catch the ball was Big Merv.

The former Test quick and ex-national selector was sitting in the stands at long-on with a tour group when Warner drove straight towards the most famous moustache in Australian sport.

Australia vs India: Second Test

Big Merv snapped it up like it was a chocolate cake at afternoon tea during his playing days and his former Test captain Allan Border could barely contain his excitement.

"That is the miracle of Hyderabad,'' TV commentator Border said.

"If he was wearing a white shirt he would be a sight screen.''

Pull young spinners out of Twenty20: Warne
 

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Budding young artist dies in tragic accident

Tributes have poured in for student Annabelle Watson, who died after falling from a moving car. Picture: Facebook Source: adelaidenow

Annabelle Watson has died after falling from a moving car. Picture: Facebook Source: adelaidenow

ANNABELLE Watson was a loyal friend who stuck up for her mates and loved to express herself through art.

But the John Pirie Secondary School student died in tragic circumstances on Sunday after suffering critical injuries when she opened a door and fell out of a moving silver Kia van on Esmond Rd at Risdon Park, near Port Pirie, about 7.50pm on Saturday.

A Facebook site - R.I.P Annabelle Jayne Watson - has been set up by friends, who paid tribute to the budding artist, music fanatic and shopaholic.

The page's creator, Cheyanne Westerlaken, told The Advertiser  that Annabelle, 15, was a happy and confident person who always made her laugh when she was upset.

"She liked to express herself in colourful ways with her artwork," she said. "She was loyal and always looked out for other people. She will be missed."

Other friends paid respects on the tribute page.

"R.I.P beautiful girl, love you so much. Still can't believe it, just gotta remember the good times I had with you," one friend wrote.

John Pirie Secondary School principal Roger Nottage said Annabelle was a respectful student, who had a good relationship with the teachers.

Mr Nottage said students were being counselled and staff were finding it difficult to deal with the latest tragedy to hit the school, less than three months after student Rebecca Wild was murdered at Quorn.

Police said they were not treating Annabelle's death as suspicious. 

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Block All Star: 'I dodged a bullet'

The Block's Mark Boyer with wife Jan and their four daughters. Pic supplied/Channel 9 Source: Supplied

Contestants Mark (left) and Duncan from the reality TV show 'The Block'. Source: Supplied

THE Block All Stars contestant Mark Bowyer wants to put his fans' minds at rest.

The lovable tradie says he is "feeling fitter than ever" despite a serious health scare which saw him have to leave renovation show. 

"I dodged a bullet," says the 55-year-old carpenter. "It was a wake up call for me. I had become run down on the show, but once I got to hospital and they ran some tests they actually discovered a previously undiagnosed condition which meant that I not only couldn't return to complete The Block, I also had to change a lot of other things in my life."

Mark has since changed his diet and started a daily exercise regime "I get up every morning and walk 6 kilometres and so far I have lost eight kilos. If I keep going at this pace I'm going to catch Duncan (who has lost 35 kilos since his first appearance on The Block in 2010). 

The Two Fat Tradies as they were affectionately known are now rapidly becoming The Two Flat Tradies. "As scared as I was at the time – and disappointed to leave the show when I did, I now think The Block may have saved my life and with the support of my girls and wife Jan and the huge response I have had from the fans of the show I am feeling better than ever and glad to say I'm going to be around for a very long time to come."

The news will come as a welcome relief to fans of the show that have come to love the down-to-earth lads who are known for the quick wit and quirky sense of style.

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Life-and-death gene tests within 5 years

PARENTS will be able to learn their newborn baby's potential health risks from a genomic test conducted at birth within five years.

New Limited can reveal that leading Australian geneticists are already working with the federal Health and Ageing Department on a national framework for genomic testing .

There are also discussions about whether gene information could be attached to everyone's e-health record.

Garvan Institute chief Professor John Mattick said genomic testing would soon fall to $1000 and become a standard test conducted at birth.

"In decade or so, I expect that everyone's genome sequence will be done at birth and put on their medical record," he told News Limited.

"The real end game is changing medicine from crisis management of disease to health optimization and disease avoidance," he said.

Genetics expert for the Royal College of Pathologists, Professor Graeme Suthers, says that "within three to five years, it is likely we will be able to sequence the six billion neucleoids of individuals for under $1000".

"The speed of change here is overwhelming, the cost is halving every six months... we're in the midst of a revolution," he said.

Patients who had gene mutations suggesting they were susceptible to emphysema would be warned not to smoke, while those with mutations predisposing them to diabetes would be told to watch their diet and avoid putting on weight, Professor Mattick said.

Parents could learn whether their daughters may be at risk of breast or ovarian cancers, or if their sons in danger from prostate cancer.

The Federal Government has set up a Genetics Working Party involving key pathology stakeholders to develop a policy framework for genomic testing and it is due to report shortly, a spokeswoman for the Health and Ageing Department said.

Other government agencies, such as the Medical Services Advisory Committee, would have to assess the new technology against existing health care interventions and make assessments about its safety, effectiveness and cost effectiveness before it receives any government funding

One of Australia's largest pathology laboratories, Healthscope Pathology, says it hopes to have the next generation sequencing machines capable of carrying out genome testing within two to three years.

However, Healthscope business development manager Jonathon Witty said he thought doctors were more likely to use the new technology to test children for diseases where early intervention could make a difference such as cystic fibrosis or metabolic conditions.

University of Melbourne genetics and ethics expert Professor Bob Williamson questioned the purpose of some genome testing.

"It would be silly to test a child for a gene that might increase the risk of Alzheimer disease when the child is 80 years old, because by that time there will probably be lots of new treatments that would help," he said.

However, he said that "if a family know that a child is at risk of diabetes, they could spend some time making sure food habits are good, to lower the chance that the disease will develop later in life".

Professor Suthers warned that testing has the potential to be error ridden, could provide information parents may be unable to cope with and is unlikely to change our lifestyles.

While it may be good to know a child was more likely to develop asthma or leukemia, "would parents want to know their baby would develop an untreatable illnes and would die before the age of eight?".

There was the risk the information could be downloaded by computer hackers, affect life insurance premiums and job opportunities and overwhelm some people unless proper counselling was provided, he said.

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TV career is headed for huge dive

Tom Williams is headed back to the small screen. Picture: Richard Dobson Source: The Daily Telegraph

EXPECT to see a lot more of former chippie Tom Williams on Seven's screens this year - he has just signed on to do a top secret show. But which show?

The rumour mill has been going strong, suggesting Williams may be co-hosting Seven's reality dive fest, Celebrity Splash.

Dancing With The Stars goes aquatic, the show follows the progress of celebrities and their diving trainers who must compete each week to do the perfect dive and then be critiqued.

Dancing's take-no-prisoners judge, Todd McKenny, has been mentioned as a possibility to join the panel.

The ever versatile Rachael Finch may also be in the running to co-host the splash-a-thon, with the Seven stablemate tipped to be tapped for a part in the series.

Iy will be a nice career bump for Williams, who has been a little quiet of late, relying mostly on radio and online gigs after winding up his commitments on The Great Outdoors last year.

Most recently he's popped up on lifestyle website Live4 as well as a roving reporter spell on Seven during the Australian Open.

Williams' laconic style would certainly be welcome in a hosting role on a much-hyped show, which promises to be filled with chills and spills.

He is also no stranger to glitz, thanks to his marriage last year to red carpet fashion designer, Rachel Gilbert.

So gruelling is this reality show, with its kitsch overtones of Who Dares Wins, that Williams could provide a stabilising influence. Many prospective celebrity contestants including Kerri-Anne Kennerley (who reportedly wailed that she might die if she did the show), have already been backing away from the sequined diving board, so the casting team has their work cut out.

However a Seven spokesman was quick to play down Williams involvement in the show.

"Tom is news to me on this gig," the spokesman said.

"We have quite a bit in development, so it could be any number of shows."

Pity, the northern beaches bloke who likes nothing more than hitting the surf with his mates, would also be the ideal, sporty person for the role.

We shall await further developments.

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New Best Jobs in the World giveaway

Tourism Australia is hiring again with their marketing campaign to give winning contestants the six 'Best jobs in the world'.

• Expansion of award-winning Best Job in the World
• Original winner Ben Southall to promote new campaign
• Ben Southall wins Best Job in the World

WHAT'S the only thing better than the best job in the world? Lots of best jobs in the world.

Tourism Australia is reinventing Queensland's acclaimed campaign, in which Englishman Ben Southall scored a high-paying job as a caretaker of a tropical island in The Whitsundays.

Tourism Australia will give away six "best jobs in the world'' around the country as part of a $4 million youth tourism campaign to be launched in Cairns today.

Each of the jobs will showcase the best tourism attributes of each state and territory.

Find out about the jobs in detail and how to apply

Tourism Australia launches its new Best Jobs in the World - Six-month $100,00 contracts across most of Australia. Source: Supplied

Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory's tourism boards chose not to be part of the campaign.

Each of the jobs comes with a six month salary package worth $100,000, including living costs.

Southall has been recruited to star in a two-minute video to promote the campaign.

Tourism Australia is launching its "Six Best Jobs in the World" campaign. How about being a park ranger in Queensland?

Around 35,000 applications were received for first The Best Job in the World campaign in 2009, which achieved worldwide publicity and was hailed as "the best idea since Willy Wonka decided to hide golden tickets in chocolate bars''.

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said he was prepared for criticism that the idea for the new campaign was not original.

"You don't have to reinvent the wheel,'' he said.

"The Best Job in the World was one of the great tourism marketing ideas of all time.

"We spoke to them about licensing that to us but expanding it and bringing in more commercial partners.

"If anything our industry walks away from great ideas too soon; I'm pleased and proud to say we have taken something developed in Queensland and made it national.''

A lifestyle photographer would be kept busy in Victoria in Tourism Australia's Best Jobs in the World campaign. Source: Supplied

The new campaign has been designed to target 18 to 30-year-old travellers and showcase the benefits of Australia's Working Holiday Maker program, which allows young people from 29 countries to have an extended holiday in Australia and supplement their funds with short-term employment.

Tourism Australia will use the applications to create a data base of names of people interested in a working holiday.

Young tourists spend around $12 billion in Australia each year and make up a quarter of international visitors.

Mr McEvoy said working holiday makers tend to stay longer, disperse widely and often come back again, with their families, later in their lives.

Tourism Australia will work with state tourism bodies and organisations such as STA Travel and Virgin Australia, while jobs website Monster.com has created an online "jobs board'' in advertising temporary jobs in Australia's tourism industry.

AAT Kings chief executive Anthony Hayes, who was head of Tourism Queensland at the time of the Best Job in the World campaign, said he was approached by Mr McEvoy a few months ago about the idea.

"They sat down with Tourism Queensland and went through a lot of the detail to work out what worked and what didn't work the first time around,'' he said.

"A number of countries have done variations of it but they have just thrown lots of money at it and thought the real attraction was the million dollar salary.

"But Tourism Australia has made the campaign more about experiences.

"No-one in tourism is ever going to have the billion dollar budget of a McDonalds or Coca Cola so we have to be more creative about what we do and we have to work together.''

Do you fancy yourself as a taste master for Western Australia. Tourism Australia has a six-month $100,000 deal for you. Source: Supplied

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'Batman' nabs suspect for police

A Bradford Police spokesman says the person who brought a wanted man into the station was dressed in a full batman outfit. Picture: West Yorkshire Police

POLICE in the north of England are appealing to the public to assist in tracking down a superhero.

With a man due to appear in court charged with handling stolen goods, the Bradford constabulary are attempting to track down the vigilante who turned him in – a man dressed as the Caped Crusader.

Falling somewhere short of Christian Bale's physique, the anonymous crime fighter – squeezed into Batman's traditional mask, body suit and cape – walked into a local police station and turned the accused over.

Police have released CCTV images in hopes of finding the would-be superhero, who took justice into his own hands late last month.

In an unrelated incident in January, a man dressed as Batman put an end to a brawl in a chip shop in Stockport in Greater Manchester.

Sadly, wannabe Batmans sometimes turn their powers to evil, as in November last year, when West Yorkshire police sought a Batman lookalike in relation to an assault in Halifax.

On that occasion, the Caped Crusader was accompanied by not one but two Robins, a Superman and an adult-sized baby, in a white jump suit and bonnet.
 

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Argo takes best picture at the Oscars

Ben Affleck accepts the Best Picture award for Argo onstage along with members of the cast and crew during the Oscars. Picture: AP Source: AP

BEN Affleck's Argo, a film about a fake movie, has earned a very real prize: best picture at the Academy Awards.

It's the first best picture winner not to be nominated for best director since 1989's Driving Miss Daisy.

From the White House,First Lady Michelle Obama joined Jack Nicholson to help present the final prize.

''There are eight great films that have every right, as much a right to be up here as we do,'' Affleck said of the other best-picture nominees.

Michelle Obama presents the Oscar for Best Picture.

In share-the-wealth mode, Oscar voters spread Oscar honors among a range of films, with Argo winning three trophies but Life of Pi leading with four.

Hugh Jackman has missed out on the best actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis.

Day-Lewis joined a select group of recipients with his third Oscar, taking the best-actor trophy for his monumental performance as Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War saga Lincoln.

John Goodman, left, Alan Arkin, center, and actor-director Ben Affleck in a scene from "Argo." Picture: AP

Bookmakers had Jackman, for his performance in Les Miserables, as the second favourite for Academy Award.

The other best actor nominees were Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Denzel Washington (Flight) and Joaquin Phoenix (The Master).

Naomi Watts failed to do the impossible and win the best actress Oscar.

The Australian was a long-shot with bookmakers for her role as a tsunami survivor in The Impossible, and that proved to be correct, with Jennifer Lawrence, for Silver Linings Playbook, taking the gold statuette.

It is the second time Watts has come up empty-handed at the Academy Awards, missing out at the 2004 ceremony when she was nominated for 21 Grams.

The other best actress nominees at the 85th Academy Awards were Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty).

Daniel Day-Lewis accepts the award for best actor in a leading role for "Lincoln". Picture: AP

Les Miserables' Anne Hathaway has lived up to the hype and won the best supporting actress Oscar ahead of Australian veteran Jacki Weaver.

Weaver was nominated for Silver Linings Playbook, her second nomination in two years after her Hollywood breakthrough performance in Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom.

Adding to the Aussie Oscar woes, Hobbit nominees visual effects wizard Dave Clayton and make-up-hairstylist Rick Findlater also missed out.

Meryl Streep, left, presents the award for best actor in a leading role to Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln". Picture: AP

Ang Lee pulled off a huge upset as best director for Life of Pi.

Christoph Waltz won his second supporting-actor Oscar for a Tarantino film, this time as a genteel bounty hunter in the slave-revenge saga Django Unchained.

Tarantino also won his second Oscar, for original screenplay for Django.

Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence takes a fall in her stride on her way to receiving her Oscar and manages a joke while keeping her dignity.

Ang Lee pulled off a major upset, won best director for the shipwreck story Life of Pi, taking the prize over Steven Spielberg, who had been favored for Lincoln.

Lawrence took a fall on her way to the stage, tripping on the steps.

''You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell,'' Lawrence joked as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

At 22, Lawrence is the second-youngest woman to win best actress, behind Marlee Matlin, who was 21 when she won for Children of a Lesser God.

Lawrence also is the third-youngest best-actress contender ever, earning her first nomination at age 20 two years ago for her breakout role in Winter's Bone, the film that took her from virtual unknown to one of Hollywood's most-versatile and sought-after performers.

With a monumental performance as Abraham Lincoln, Day-Lewis became the only performer to win three best-actor Oscars, adding to the honors he earned for My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood.

Jennifer Lawrence accepts the award for best actress in a leading role for "Silver Linings Playbook" during the Oscars. Picture: AP

He's just the sixth actor to earn three or more Oscars, tied with Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan with three each, and just behind Katharine Hepburn, who won four.

Hathaway, whose perkiness helped carry her and the listless Franco through an ill-starred stint as Oscar hosts two years ago, is the third performer in a musical to win supporting actress during the genre's resurgence in the last decade.

''It came true,'' said Hathaway, who joins 2002 supporting-actress winner Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago and 2006 recipient Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls.

Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, from the cast of "Les Miserables," perform during the Oscars. Picture: AP

Hathaway had warm thanks for Les Miz co-star Hugh Jackman, with whom she once sang a duet at the Oscars when he was the show's host.

Hathaway's Oscar came for her role as noble but fallen Fantine in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway smash that was based on Victor Hugo's epic novel of revolution, romance and redemption in 19th century France.

Life of Pi also won for Mychael Danna's multicultural musical score that blends Indian and Western instruments and influences, plus cinematography and visual effects.

Host Seth MacFarlane sings 'We saw your boobs' at the Oscars. Courtesy Nine. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

''I really want to thank you for believing this story and sharing this incredible journey with me,'' Lee said to all who worked on the film, a surprise blockbuster about a youth trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.

A veteran performer in Germany and his native Austria, Waltz had been a virtual unknown in Hollywood when Tarantino cast him as a gleefully evil Nazi in 2009's Inglourious Basterds, which won him his first Oscar.

''I have to cast the right people to make those characters come alive,'' said Tarantino, who won previously for Pulp Fiction.

Seth MacFarlane has lived up to his risky reputation as Oscars host. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

''And boy, this time, did I do it. Thank you so much, guys.''

Waltz has since done a handful of other Hollywood movies, but it's Tarantino who has given him his two choicest roles. Backstage, Waltz had a simple explanation for why the collaboration works.

''Quentin writes poetry, and I like poetry,'' Waltz said.

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane opened with a mildly edgy monologue that offered the usual polite jabs at the academy, the stars and the industry.

He took a poke at academy voters over the snub of Ben Affleck, who missed out on a directing nomination for best-picture favorite Argo, a thriller about the CIA's plot to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis.

''The story was so top secret that the film's director is unknown to the academy,'' MacFarlane said.

Host Seth MacFarlane speaks onstage during the Oscars. Picture: AP

''They know they screwed up. Ben, it's not your fault.''

Argo also claimed the Oscar for adapted screenplay for Chris Terrio, who worked with Affleck to create a liberally embellished story based on an article about the rescue and part of CIA operative Tony Mendez's memoir.

Terrio dedicated the award to Mendez, saying ''33 years ago, Tony, using nothing but his creativity and his intelligence, Tony got six people out of a bad situation.''

The foreign-language prize went to Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke's old-age love story Amour, which had been a major surprise with five nominations, including picture, director and original screenplay for Haneke and best actress for Emmanuelle Riva, who turned 86 on Oscar night and would be the oldest acting winner ever.

The top prize winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Amour follows the agonizing story of an elderly man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) tending his wife (Riva) as she declines from age and illness.

Haneke thanked his own wife for supporting him in his work for 30 years.

''You are the center of my life,'' Haneke said.

The Scottish adventure Brave, from Disney's Pixar Animation unit, was named best animated feature.

Pixar films have won seven of the 12 Oscars since the category was added.

''I just happen to be wearing the kilt,'' said Brave co-director Mark Andrews, who took the stage in his trademark Scottish garment.

The upbeat musical portrait Searching for Sugar Man took the documentary feature prize.

The film follows the quest of two South African fans to discover the fate of acclaimed but obscure singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who dropped out of sight after two albums in the 1970s and was rumored to have died a bitter death.

''Thanks to one of the greatest singers ever, Rodriguez,'' said Sugar Man director Malik Bendjelloul.

There was a rare tie in one category, with the Osama bin Laden thriller Zero Dark Thirty' and the James Bond tale Skyfall each winning for sound editing.

William Shatner made a guest appearance as his Star Trek character Capt. James Kirk, appearing on a giant screen above the stage during MacFarlane's monologue, saying he came back in time to stop the host from ruining the Oscars.

''Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate, and everyone ends up hating you,'' said Shatner, who revealed a headline supposedly from the next day's newspaper that read, ''Seth MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever.''

The performance-heavy Oscars also included an opening number featuring Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum, who did a classy dance while MacFarlane crooned The Way You Look Tonight.

Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt then joined MacFarlane for an elegant musical rendition of High Hopes.

Halle Berry introduced a tribute to the Bond franchise, in which she has co-starred, as the British super-spy celebrated his 50th anniversary on the big-screen last year with the latest adventure Skyfall.

Shirley Bassey sang her theme song to the 1960s Bond tale Goldfinger.

Later, pop star Adele performed her theme tune from Skyfall, which won the best-song Oscar.

Barbra Streisand injected some musical sentiment into the show's segment memorializing Hollywood figures who died in the past year as she sang The Way We Were, the Oscar-winning song she did in the film of the same name.

A salute to the resurgence of movie musicals in the last decade included Oscar winners Zeta-Jones singing All That Jazz from Chicago and Hudson doing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from Dreamgirls.

Hathaway and Jackman joined cast mates of best-picture contender Les Miserables to sing songs from their musical.

Academy officials said all performances were sung live.

Fans had pondered how far MacFarlane the impudent creator of Family Guy, might push the normally prim and proper Oscars.

MacFarlane was generally polite and respectful, showcasing his charm, wit and vocal gifts.

MacFarlane did press his luck a bit on an Abraham Lincoln joke, noting that Raymond Massey preceded Lincoln star Daniel Day-Lewis as an Oscar nominee for 1940's Abe Lincoln in Illinois.

''I would argue that the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth,'' MacFarlane wisecracked, earning some groans from the crowd.

''A hundred and 50 years later, and it's still too soon?''

 THE WINNERS

Best Picture - Argo

Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln

Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook

Achievement in Directing - Ang Lee for Life of Pi

Original Screenplay - Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained

Adapted Screenplay - Chris Terrio for Argo

Original Song - Skyfall by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth for Skyfall

Original Score - Pi's Lullaby by Mychael Danna for Life of Pi

Production Design - Lincoln

Film Editing - William Goldenberg for Argo

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Anna Hathaway for Les Miserables

Sound Editing - Zero Dark Thirty and SkyFall

Sound Mixing  - Les Miserables

Foreign Language Film -  Michael Haneke for Amour

Best Documentary Feature - Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short Subject - Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine for Innocents

Best Live Action Short Film - Shawn Christensen for Curfew

Make-Up and Hairstyling - Les Miserables

Costume Design - Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina

Cinematography - Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi

Visual Effects - Life of Pi

Animated Short Film - John Connors for Paperman

Animated Feature - Brave

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained

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Taking wrong road easy as EBC

Ben Barba partying with friends in pictures posted on Instagram and with new girlfriend Lauren Tweddle.

Ben Barba sporting the EBC tattoo. Source: Facebook

THEY'RE proudly known as the Epic Bender Crew, a tight-knit band of party-hard Gen Y mates who binge their way through most weekends.

And just before Christmas last year, Ben Barba decided to join them.

Barba's association with the Cronulla-based group, known locally and online as EBC, provides plenty of clues as why he could no longer be the game's clean-skinned poster boy.

While a painful split with childhood sweetheart, Ainslie Currie, and problem gambling are the other significant reasons, excessive drinking and partying have conspired toward Barba's downfall.

Those pastimes are also the driving force behind EBC's charter, with the group known around the Sutherland Shire for its extreme commitment to having a blast.

The link to Barba appears to be Daniel Folkes, the son of former Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes. Daniel Folkes also featured on the short-lived TV show The Shire.

Barba and Folkes were teammates in Canterbury's under-20s team and were photographed together in EBC-themed parties over the Christmas period.

There's also a telling SMS exchange that Folkes posted on his Facebook site, in which Barba pledges to join EBC by getting a tattoo with the group's initials.

"I think it's safe to say you are part of the famous EBC welcome aboard," Folkes texted on December 14 last year.

"That's it, I'm getting the tatt," Barba replied.

Shortly afterwards Folkes posted another picture, this time of a shirtless Barba getting the initials E-B-C inked on to his lower torso.

A close friend of Barba last night said the superstar has toned down his partying with EBC since resuming training last month.

"He did spend a bit of time with those guys before and after Christmas," the friend said.

There's no suggestion EBC enjoy anything more sinister than having a good time - for a long time.

Furthermore, Reni Maitua and John Sutton have carved out long careers as members of the Bra Boys, an infinitely more notorious gang.

And in the end, Barba will not be cured should he stop drinking or have the EBC tattoo removed.

His problems extend back to the split with Currie, his childhood sweetheart from Mackay and the mother of his two baby daughters.

Barba's association with EBC occurred around the same time he and Currie ended their eight-year relationship.The couple purchased their first home in Caringbah last year, but Barba didn't move out until early last week.

In the first indication that his life was falling apart, Barba requested a few days away from training last week.

Canterbury boss Todd Greenberg gave him the green light and was receiving daily updates about Barba's welfare from Currie.

"Moving out was a big thing," the friend said.

"Suddenly Ben was on his own and I don't think he expected it to be so hard without the kids."

Friends are confident that Barba will be restored once he and Currie patch up their differences.

But he also has deeper demons to confront, including a worrying gambling habit.

While Greenberg dismissed suggestions that Barba had fallen into debt, Bulldogs insiders have been concerned for some time about the proportion of his salary that's frittered away through TAB terminals and poker machines.

"He bets on the horses," an inner-city publican said.

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Breast Supporting Actress gets Twitter account

Host Seth MacFarlane sings 'We saw your boobs' at the Oscars. Courtesy Nine. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

Sock puppets get the Seth MacFarlane treatment during Oscar opening ceremony. Courtesy Nine. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

Anne Hathaway's nipples have inspired their own Twitter account. Picture: AFP Source: news.com.au

Anne Hathaway's nipples have tried to steal the show from Angelina Jolie's right leg at last year's Oscars. Picture: Getty Source: news.com.au

ALL eyes were on what Best Supporting Actress winner Anne Hathaway was going to wear to this year's Oscars, but shortly after she stepped out in her pink Prada gown, all eyes were clearly on something else.

A Twitter account called @HathawayNipples, run by "AnneHathawayNipples" popped up within minutes of her Oscars red carpet debut.

Looking to quickly become the new @AngiesRightLeg - which amassed tens of thousands of followers during last year's Oscars - almost 2,000 people were following the account within an hour of it going live.

FULL GALLERY: Oscars 2013 Red Carpet

Fashion critics were quick to suggest that Hathaway's gown left little to the imagination, with the braless ensemble making her nipples completely visible through the sheer satin material.

But what exactly did AnneHathawayNipples have to say about their red carpet moment and inclusion on the "Breast Dressed List".

"Anyone else feeling a little chilly? #Oscars," they tweeted.

Anne Hathaway's nipples have inspired their own Twitter account. Picture: AFP Source: news.com.au

Before adding: "#LesNipplerables" and "Well this is awkward. #WeSawYourBoobs #Oscars" in reference to host Seth McFarlane's opening musical number about all the actresses' boobs that had been seen in movies.

"Anne Hathaway we saw your boobs in Brokeback Mountain, Halle Berry we saw them in Monster's Ball. Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut, Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler but we haven't seen Jennifer Lawrence's boobs at all," he sang. Watch the above video to see how it went down.

PICTURES: Beards of the Oscars - Men put their best fuzz forward

Angelina Jolie's Leg wasn't happy about the Twitter imposter and quickly had something to say about the new account.

"Just say no to @hathawaynipples SHE is NO ME!", it tweeted to its 41,000 followers.

But according to E!'s red carpet coverage, Anne's nipples almost didn't have their fifteen minutes of Oscars fame.

Just three hours before the red carpet Valentino was convinced she was wearing one of their gowns, only for her to switch to the pink Prada "underwelmer" at the eleventh hour.

The reason for the switch is not yet known.

It's not the first time Hathaway has suffered an embarrassing red carpet wardrobe malfunction.

The star was mortified in mid-December when cameras caught her stepping out of a car with no underwear on at the Les Miserables premiere in New York.

@ali_stephenson_

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