Braith Anasta

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Braith Anasta

Personal information
Full name	Braith Anastasakis
Date of birth	14 January 1982 (1982-01-14) (age 26)
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	98 kg (15 st 6 lbs)
Nickname(s)	BA, Boppy
School(s)	Marcellin College Randwick
Relatives	George Piggins (uncle)
Club information
Position(s)	Five-eighth / Lock
Current club	Sydney Roosters
Number	6
Youth clubs
Years	Club
	Maroubra Lions
Youth representative teams
1999	Australian Schoolboys
Senior clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
2000 – 2005 2006 – present	Bulldogs Sydney Roosters Total	110 (214) 47 (56) 157 (270)
Representative teams**
2001 2002 – 2007 2003 – present	Australia New South Wales City Origin	4 (6) 9 (8) 6 (1)
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only and correct as of 19 May 2008. ** Representative team caps and points correct as of 10 May 2008.

Braith Anasta (born Braith Anastasakis on 14 January 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League competition. Anasta previously played for the Bulldogs and has played representative football for both New South Wales and Australia. His position of choice is five-eighth, however he is also capable of playing at lock.

[edit] NRL career

Since debuting in 2000 at the age of 18, Anasta has played for both the Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters, making over 150 first grade appearances.

[edit] Bulldogs

After playing his junior football for the Maroubra Lions (a South Sydney junior club), Anasta joined the Bulldogs ahead of the 2000 NRL season. Despite spending a majority of his first season in Jersey Flegg, Anasta made his first grade debut on June 2, 2000 against the Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium filling in for the injured Jason Hetherington.^[1] This was the only first grade game Anasta played in 2000, however he had a great deal of success with the Bulldogs Jersey Flegg side, helping them to a premiership victory over the Western Suburbs Magpies.^[1]

Anasta's breakthrough season came in the 2001 NRL season. He secured a regular place in the team at five-eighth, scored 13 tries in 24 games and helped the Bulldogs finish second on the ladder at the end of the season.^[1] His season finished disappointingly however, as he missed the Bulldog's semi-final against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks with a thumb injury. Despite this, his excellent form throughout the season earned him the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award and a spot on the 2001 Kangaroo Tour.^[2]

The 2002 season was one of turmoil for the Bulldogs, as they were stripped 37 competition points for breaching the salary cap. The impact was so heavy on the club that there was speculation that Anasta would switch codes and play rugby union if he was asked to take a pay cut by the Bulldogs.^[3] Despite this, the season was a good one for Anasta individually as he made his State of Origin debut, scored 10 tries and at 20 years and 145 days, became the youngest ever man to captain the Bulldogs.^[1]

In 2003, Anasta assisted the Bulldogs in coming out of the salary cap crisis as the club finished third on the ladder at the end of the season. While the season was indeed a relatively successful one for the Bulldogs, Anasta spent a fair amount of time on the sidelines, fracturing his sternum at the start of the season and fracturing his foot towards the end of the season.^[4][5]

The 2004 season saw Anasta claim his first premiership ring as the Bulldogs beat his future club, the Sydney Roosters, 16-13 in the Grand Final to win their 8th title. Anasta was a vital player in the Bulldogs premiership season, playing 26 matches and scoring 8 tries, including one in the Preliminary Final against the Penrith Panthers.^[6] At the end of the season, speculation was once again strong that Anasta was going to switch codes to rugby union and play for the New South Wales Waratahs in 2005,^[7] however Anasta opted to stay with the Bulldogs.

2005 was the final season of Anasta's contract with the Bulldogs, and in a season that saw Anasta voted the "most overrated player" in rugby league by a League Week player's poll,^[8] the Bulldogs failed to make the Top 8 the year after winning the premiership. It was in Round 18 of this season that Anasta scored his first and only hat-trick to date during the Bulldogs' 26-24 win over the New Zealand Warriors at Mount Smart Stadium.^[9] Anasta played his final match for the Bulldogs on September 4, 2005 in a 32-12 loss to his future club, the Sydney Roosters.^[10]

Between 2000 and 2005, Anasta played 110 first grade matches for the Bulldogs, scoring 50 tries, kicking 2 goals and 10 field goals.^[1]

[edit] Sydney Roosters

After Anasta's contract with the Bulldogs expired, the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs were seen as the two main contenders for his signature.^[11] The departure of Luke Ricketson, Michael Crocker, Jason Cayless, Chris Walker and Brett Firman ahead of the 2006 season allowed the Roosters to table a sizeable offer for Anasta. After months of speculation, on July 13, 2005 it was announced that Anasta had signed a 3-year deal with the Roosters. Anasta claimed his move to the Roosters wasn't financially motivated and was "based upon the opportunity to work under Roosters and State of Origin Coach Ricky Stuart".^[12]

Anasta made his debut for the Sydney Roosters on March 12, 2006 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Telstra Stadium.^[13] His first season with the Roosters was a forgettable one as he failed to score a try in 16 appearances and missed the last part of the season with a groin injury.^[14] The Roosters also performed well below par, finishing 15th on the ladder and missing the Top 8 for the second year in a row.

The 2007 season was an excellent one for Anasta, and one of improvement for his team. While Anasta was practising to play at lock under the guidance of former Roosters' coach Chris Anderson during the pre-season, he only played the first game of the season there before shifting to his regular five-eighth position.^[15] After the Roosters lost their first 5 matches of the season, Anasta was instrumental in helping the side reach 9th on the ladder as the Roosters just fell short of reaching the finals. Anasta's performances throughout the season were rewarded as he was nominated for Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year and won the Roosters' prestigious Jack Gibson Medal for Player of the Year as well as the Supporters Club Player of the Year Award.^[16] In the Roosters' final match of the 2007 season, Anasta attracted a fair amount of media attention after he was hit by South Sydney Rabbitohs forward David Fa'alogo in what he described as a "coward act".^[17] After the end of the season, it was revealed that Anasta had signed a contract extension with the Roosters to keep him with the club until at least the end of the 2011 season.^[18]

Partnering Mitchell Pearce in the halves, the 2008 season got off to a good start for both the Roosters and Anasta. Anasta played a vital role in helping the Roosters win 4 of their first 5 matches of the season.

[edit] Representative football

While his Greek heritage makes him eligible to represent the Greek national rugby league team, Anasta has pledged his allegiance to Australia. Since 2001, Anasta has played representative football for City Origin, New South Wales and Australia.

[edit] Australia

After his outstanding 2001 season, Anasta was selected in the Australian squad for the 2001 Kangaroo Tour.^[19] It was on this tour that Anasta made his International debut, coming off the bench in Australia's 54-12 thrashing of Papua New Guinea at Lloyd Robson Oval on October 7, 2001.^[20] He was then selected in every match of Australia's 2-1 Ashes triumph over Great Britain. With Anasta coming off the bench in each game, Australia fought back from a 1-0 deficit, with Anasta helping the cause by scoring a try in Australia's 40-12 win in the second Test.^[21]

Despite a good showing in these Tests, Anasta has failed to make the Australian team again since 2001.

[edit] New South Wales

Anasta has been a regular in the New South Wales team since 2002. He made his Origin debut on May 22 in Game One of the 2002 series, coming off the bench as the Blues easily beat Queensland 32-4.^[22] Anasta was promoted to start five-eighth for Game Two of the series, filling in for the injured Trent Barrett. While he scored his first Origin try in the match, the Blues lost 26-18 and the series was levelled at 1-1.^[23] When Barrett returned from injury, Anasta was left out of the side entirely, with Scott Hill being favoured for the third match of what ended up being a tied series.

Shaun Timmins was preferred to Anasta as five-eighth for the 2003 series,^[24] however Anasta was selected as lock in Game Three after the Blues had already sealed the series.^[25] Anasta missed the 2004 series completely due to the return to representative football of Anasta's future coach, Brad Fittler.

While Trent Barrett was originally selected as five-eighth for the 2005 series, his injury opened the door for Anasta to play the final 2 games. Down 1-0 in the series, Anasta helped the Blues come back to win the series 2-1, scoring a try in the decisive Game Three at Suncorp Stadium.^[26] Anasta played the first two matches of the 2006 series, however was dropped for the final match of the series after the Blues faced an embarrassing 30-6 loss in Game Two. Despite this, Anasta returned for the first two matches of the 2007 series before being ruled out for the third with a fractured finger.^[27]

Anasta has played 9 games for New South Wales, scoring 2 tries for 8 points.

[edit] City Origin

Anasta made his City Origin debut on May 16, 2003 at Central Coast Stadium in a 17-16 win for City. This match perhaps contained the highlight of Anasta's entire City vs Country Origin career as he kicked the field goal to secure victory for his team.

To date, Anasta has made 6 appearances for City, scoring 1 point.

[edit] Awards and Honours

Individual

2001: Dally M Rookie of the Year
2007: Jack Gibson Medal
2007: Supporters Club Player of the Year

Team

2004: Premiers (Bulldogs)

[edit] External links

• Braith Anasta at the State of Origin official website.
• Braith Anasta Bulldogs Profile
• Braith Anasta Sydney Roosters Profile
• NRL Profile

[edit] References