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Wests Tigers centre Chris Lawrence said one advantage in having perhaps the NRL's most maligned player - veteran Braith Anasta - on his club's books was the sense of "calm" and "patience" he provided the club's youth brigade.
Anasta, 31, suggested 2014 would most be likely his last in a career that has spanned 275 games with Canterbury, Sydney Roosters and the Tigers. He has also represented NSW in 10 Origin matches, four Tests for Australia, won a grand final with the Bulldogs and he even played a starring role in Greece's 90-0 victory over Hungary last October.
Lawrence said the fact Anasta had "been there and done it" helped during a tense match or at training when drills didn't go to plan.
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"His leadership is great, he has a calmness about him," said Lawrence. "Even at training when things might not be going right, and some blokes are clearly frustrated, he calms everyone down and gets his points across. It happened a few times in games last year but it's more so at training. Even during the build-up to this season when they try to put pressure on us when we're doing skills work, when people stuff up, and they're feeling the heat, he calms them down and I think it's been really good for the young guys to see that side of him."
While Anasta had been savaged by critics throughout his career, Lawrence said he gave substance to coach Michael Potter's roster.
"He is a great player," said Lawrence. "He's great to play with, he's really competitive, he competes on every play and apart from his experience that calming influence is great and it'll rub off on some of the young guys."
Lawrence, an Australian representative, said the younger and impressionable players had also benefited from Robbie Farah's presence, saying the skipper's success at Origin level was testimony to his values of hard work and sacrifice.
"Nothing he's achieved has been a fluke," Lawrence said. "Everything he's achieved over the last three years – recalled to the Origin team and named captain last year – has been through hard work. The young guys, and the older ones for that matter, see how he leaves no stone unturned and does all the extras he needs to."
Lawrence, who battled a run of frustrating injuries last year, said there was a "quiet confidence" in the team but added it was crucial the Wests Tigers did well in their early matches to bolster that belief.
Meanwhile, one of the players expected to challenge Anasta for the team's famous No.6 jumper, which was vacated when Benji Marshall switched to rugby at the end of last season, was former Penrith player Blake Austin. After impressing in the trials he credited an old-school remedy for giving him an edge.
He revealed how he wore a garbage bag under a number of shirts and jumpers during his road runs around Blacktown during the summer heat for sweating kilos from off his frame.
"I did a lot of long-distance running to get some kilometres in my legs and to drop a bit of weight," he said. "I pulled out the garbage bag to wear on my road runs and dropped seven kilos in four weeks. I called it the 'garbage bag route' and I'd run anywhere between three to five kilometres . . . you sweat up, feel terrible, but the benefits were tremendous."
Austin, who played in the Windsor Wolves team that finished runners-up to Cronulla in last year's NSW Cup, added extra depth to the halves and will be in contention with Anasta, teenager Mitchell Moses and the injured Tim Moltzen for the five-eighth spot.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/wests-tigers-centre-chris-lawrence-lauds-braith-anastas-calming-influence-20140226-33hba.html#ixzz2uVHUHPRG
Anasta, 31, suggested 2014 would most be likely his last in a career that has spanned 275 games with Canterbury, Sydney Roosters and the Tigers. He has also represented NSW in 10 Origin matches, four Tests for Australia, won a grand final with the Bulldogs and he even played a starring role in Greece's 90-0 victory over Hungary last October.
Lawrence said the fact Anasta had "been there and done it" helped during a tense match or at training when drills didn't go to plan.
Advertisement
"His leadership is great, he has a calmness about him," said Lawrence. "Even at training when things might not be going right, and some blokes are clearly frustrated, he calms everyone down and gets his points across. It happened a few times in games last year but it's more so at training. Even during the build-up to this season when they try to put pressure on us when we're doing skills work, when people stuff up, and they're feeling the heat, he calms them down and I think it's been really good for the young guys to see that side of him."
While Anasta had been savaged by critics throughout his career, Lawrence said he gave substance to coach Michael Potter's roster.
"He is a great player," said Lawrence. "He's great to play with, he's really competitive, he competes on every play and apart from his experience that calming influence is great and it'll rub off on some of the young guys."
Lawrence, an Australian representative, said the younger and impressionable players had also benefited from Robbie Farah's presence, saying the skipper's success at Origin level was testimony to his values of hard work and sacrifice.
"Nothing he's achieved has been a fluke," Lawrence said. "Everything he's achieved over the last three years – recalled to the Origin team and named captain last year – has been through hard work. The young guys, and the older ones for that matter, see how he leaves no stone unturned and does all the extras he needs to."
Lawrence, who battled a run of frustrating injuries last year, said there was a "quiet confidence" in the team but added it was crucial the Wests Tigers did well in their early matches to bolster that belief.
Meanwhile, one of the players expected to challenge Anasta for the team's famous No.6 jumper, which was vacated when Benji Marshall switched to rugby at the end of last season, was former Penrith player Blake Austin. After impressing in the trials he credited an old-school remedy for giving him an edge.
He revealed how he wore a garbage bag under a number of shirts and jumpers during his road runs around Blacktown during the summer heat for sweating kilos from off his frame.
"I did a lot of long-distance running to get some kilometres in my legs and to drop a bit of weight," he said. "I pulled out the garbage bag to wear on my road runs and dropped seven kilos in four weeks. I called it the 'garbage bag route' and I'd run anywhere between three to five kilometres . . . you sweat up, feel terrible, but the benefits were tremendous."
Austin, who played in the Windsor Wolves team that finished runners-up to Cronulla in last year's NSW Cup, added extra depth to the halves and will be in contention with Anasta, teenager Mitchell Moses and the injured Tim Moltzen for the five-eighth spot.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/wests-tigers-centre-chris-lawrence-lauds-braith-anastas-calming-influence-20140226-33hba.html#ixzz2uVHUHPRG
