A lithe and lightning-quick winger who has a fantastic strike rate in Super League, Barnett had the best average gain per carry in the Wolves squad in 2006, with his average of 8.59m per carry the 7th best figure in the competition as a whole. Came through a difficult mid-season period to finish the season in strong form in the playoffs, and will be competing strongly for a first choice wing berth in 2007. Barnett is a superb natural runner with genuine speed and great balance, Barnett fought his way back into the professional game after being discarded by Huddersfield Giants without making a first team appearance at the end of 2001. He took a degree in Business and Finance at Leeds Metropolitan University, representing Great Britain students and earning a chance to play semi-professionally with Gateshead Thunder in 2002. He was the first Thunder player to be sold for a free, with Hull FC paying an appearance-linked deal worth £15,000 in order to take him to the KC Stadium in 2004. Initially tagged "Richie Barnett Junior" at Hull due to the presence of the former New Zealand captain who shares his name, he scored 23 tries in just 25 starts during his time at the club, punctuated by a brief loan spell at Widnes in 2005.
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