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Braith has faith: Tigers recruit vows to improve on opening-round shocker
March 15, 2013
Glenn Jackson
Rugby League Writer
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If honesty is the best policy, expect Wests Tigers to bounce back well on Sunday against Penrith. Some of the Tigers' key players have been nothing short of brutal on themselves in the wake of their 42-10 loss to Newcastle on Monday.
''It was a shocking game,'' back-rower Braith Anasta said. ''It was just exactly what I didn't want to start, so I have to try to rectify that myself and turn things around with a good performance against the Panthers … It is a snowball effect. If you look around the whole team, the whole team probably had one of their worst performances individually. I am just a part of that team.''
Only just, though. Which is perhaps why Anasta, making his NRL debut for the club, was so damning. Having switched to the Tigers from Sydney Roosters, where he was captain, Anasta was looking to make a good first impression with his teammates as well as Tigers supporters. Anasta was poor, but there wasn't much good in the Tigers squad.
''It was one of those games - you're out there, you feel helpless, you're in quicksand and you feel like you're sinking because everything is going against you,'' Anasta said. ''We couldn't get any momentum at all.''
But what Anasta did not believe was that the form - of him and his side - was terminal. ''I have said it all pre-season: I felt good in the trials, I felt good at training,'' he said. ''It was just a poor start for us. I don't think any of us expected it. You can look too deep into it. It's just a poor result. It was just the worst possible start for us but it's early days.''
Adam Blair was another to believe that the truth helps. He maintained he was relatively happy with his performance on Monday night. That said, he is coming off a disappointing 2012, and is looking to improve significantly this year.
''I set high standards for myself, and the season didn't go the way I was hoping,'' Blair said. ''I've spoken to a few people, and I've told them the same thing. I was disappointed in how I performed. I've got high standards of how I want to be perceived in the team. What I did last year wasn't how I play. Over the pre-season, I sat down and thought about the things that I want to be better at, and the things that I want to do well for the team.
''I just want to get back to the little things that I do well for my team. I've worked pretty hard on them in the pre-season, and hopefully all the hard work I've done, I get the rewards for.''
The great expectations, having come from Melbourne with a reputation as the best forward in the game, didn't help. ''The expectations from other people were there, but I've got high expectations on myself,'' he said. ''I let myself down first and foremost, and obviously my team.''
March 15, 2013
Glenn Jackson
Rugby League Writer
\
\
If honesty is the best policy, expect Wests Tigers to bounce back well on Sunday against Penrith. Some of the Tigers' key players have been nothing short of brutal on themselves in the wake of their 42-10 loss to Newcastle on Monday.
''It was a shocking game,'' back-rower Braith Anasta said. ''It was just exactly what I didn't want to start, so I have to try to rectify that myself and turn things around with a good performance against the Panthers … It is a snowball effect. If you look around the whole team, the whole team probably had one of their worst performances individually. I am just a part of that team.''
Only just, though. Which is perhaps why Anasta, making his NRL debut for the club, was so damning. Having switched to the Tigers from Sydney Roosters, where he was captain, Anasta was looking to make a good first impression with his teammates as well as Tigers supporters. Anasta was poor, but there wasn't much good in the Tigers squad.
''It was one of those games - you're out there, you feel helpless, you're in quicksand and you feel like you're sinking because everything is going against you,'' Anasta said. ''We couldn't get any momentum at all.''
But what Anasta did not believe was that the form - of him and his side - was terminal. ''I have said it all pre-season: I felt good in the trials, I felt good at training,'' he said. ''It was just a poor start for us. I don't think any of us expected it. You can look too deep into it. It's just a poor result. It was just the worst possible start for us but it's early days.''
Adam Blair was another to believe that the truth helps. He maintained he was relatively happy with his performance on Monday night. That said, he is coming off a disappointing 2012, and is looking to improve significantly this year.
''I set high standards for myself, and the season didn't go the way I was hoping,'' Blair said. ''I've spoken to a few people, and I've told them the same thing. I was disappointed in how I performed. I've got high standards of how I want to be perceived in the team. What I did last year wasn't how I play. Over the pre-season, I sat down and thought about the things that I want to be better at, and the things that I want to do well for the team.
''I just want to get back to the little things that I do well for my team. I've worked pretty hard on them in the pre-season, and hopefully all the hard work I've done, I get the rewards for.''
The great expectations, having come from Melbourne with a reputation as the best forward in the game, didn't help. ''The expectations from other people were there, but I've got high expectations on myself,'' he said. ''I let myself down first and foremost, and obviously my team.''
