Career
His club career was with the Canberra Raiders, Saint George Dragons, Sydney City and Leeds Rhinos. He played much of his career at Second row forward. A Canberra junior, Barnhill made his first grade debut with the Raiders late in the 1989 season as a replacement in a match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
By 1991 he was first grade regular and appeared in all 26 Canberra season and finals matches that year.
Barnhill joined the Saint George Dragons in 1992 and was in the run-on side in 25 of the club"s 26 appearances that season. In 1997 Barnhill joined the Sydney Roosters and spent three years with the club where he mainly played in the Front row.
The Roosters were serious Finals contenders in each of those years. All up Barnhill took part in five first grade Grand finals (four of them in consecutive years) but with only one victory – his first appearance with Canberra in 1990.
In ten of his twelve years of Australian first grade appearances Barnhill played in the Finals – exceptions being 1989 and 1994.
In 2000 Barnhill finished his playing career in a season with the Leeds Rhinos. He cut short his two-year contract with Leeds at the end of 2000 and returned to Australia. Barnhill first represented for the New South Wales Blues in State of Origin off the interchange bench in game I of 1994 and he appeared in all three games of that series.
The following year he appeared in games II and III and he entered Origin folklore when footage of the all-in brawl of game II showed him standing and slugging it out blow for blow with Queensland"s Billy Moore long after the rest of the melee had calmed down.
Following a two-year representative absence Barnhill returned to the Origin arena in 1998 and played in all three games. The final match of his nine match Origin career was game I of 1999.
Barnhill represented Ireland in the 2000 World Cup. After retiring as a player Barnhill returned to Australia to take-up a position as defensive coach with the ACT Brumbies rugby union club in 2001.
In 2002 he was appointed as Assistant Coach to Nathan Brown at Saint George Illawarra Dragons.
In 2005 he relocated to his home town of Wagga where he manages a hotel. He is the son of the former general manager of the Country Rugby League, David Barnhill, snr. In 2013 he coached the New South Wales Country Residents on a tour of South Africa.
