One would think a player of Anasta's standing in the game would know when he is not contributing anything positive on the field and have the decency to stand down. Whilst I still think that Austin has a lot of work to do on his game, there is a marked difference in the team's attack when he replaces Anasta, during a match, that is there for all to see - all except the coaches, apparently.
I was right behind Anasta's selection early on. In fact, I thought he was quite good at the beginning of the season, as was the whole team, but his form has deteriorated a lot since then - just when the team needed him most, to step up in Farah's absence.
However, whilst Anasta is a major weakness at present, the entire team seems to have lost the spark, enthusiasm, hardness and will to win that it had in the first 6 rounds. The usual injuries, Origin and the interruption to what was fast becoming the best impact bench in the NRL hasn't helped, but apart from Gavet, everyone is back on deck now, so the team really needs to find its mental and physical fire again very soon before the season slips away from them.