Nothing overly interesting or revoluntionary but just a comment that caught the eye.
Barbarouses was absent when the All Whites played the Republic of Ireland and Lithuania last November, staying at home with his wife to help her look after their two-month-old daughter and to play for Sydney, who were in action at the same time.
But after seeing how new coach Danny Hay set the team up for those matches, he is looking forward to being involved down the line and adding to his 47 caps and – he hopes – his four international goals.
“I've been in pretty regular contact with Danny. They send through a lot of videos, and we have caught up a few times as a team with Zoom calls,” Barbarouses said.
“From everything that I've seen and heard, I love what Danny's trying to do with the team.
“We've got a very exciting young team, I think, obviously sprinkled with a few of us more experienced boys, and it's looking really bright, what we can achieve.”