Latest news with #Anasta
Herald Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Lachlan Galvin debuts for Bulldogs against Parramatta Eels
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bulldogs. Followed categories will be added to My News. Hey, Lachlan Galvin, here's the recipe for success to be an elite Canterbury half, from a premiership-winning one. 'When you're a Bulldog, it's a team first mentality … care about each other and prioritise the guy next to you more so than yourself. You'd do anything for the guy next to you.' That's the advice from Braith Anasta, who played five-eighth in Canterbury's last premiership-winning team in 2004, to former Tiger-turned-Bulldog Galvin. It was the mantra an 18-year-old Anasta adopted when he arrived in Belmore in 2000, which led him to a drought breaking grand final in the halves for the Dogs four years later. Now the fresh faced 19-year-old Galvin has the chance to do the same. 'For Lachie, if he buys into the culture and buys into the systematic way in which they're playing, doesn't try and overcomplicate things and really believes in the process and the coach, who's doing incredible things, then he won't have a problem,' he said. 'He'll fit in like a glove.' Anasta is glad Ciraldo has chosen to 'rip the band-aid off' and name Galvin straight for the King's Birthday clash on Fox League and Kayo against the Eels, the side the youngster ironically almost signed for. Parramatta will be out to show Galvin what he missed out on, the chance to play with one of the game's best playmakers in Mitchell Moses. But at Canterbury Anasta says Galvin will have the opportunity to make the No.7 jersey his own. 'They'd see him moving into the seven and Burton six, less disruption, and then kind of teaching Lachie the ways, the systems, the defensive patterns and getting his style more and getting it wrapped around his head,' Anasta said. But as much as the ex-Canterbury playmaker is thrilled by Galvin's arrival, the NRL 360 host can't help but put himself in the shoes of current halfback Toby Sexton who would feel been hard done by. 'He doesn't really deserve to be in this situation given how well he's played this year and where the dogs are coming. Canterbury Bulldogs signing Lachlan Galvin. Picture: Instagram 'I feel sorry for him, but it's also a good opportunity and challenge for him at the same time.' Anasta, also a player agent to several halfbacks, says the highs for Galvin and lows of Sexton is just the reality of the rollercoaster that is rugby league. 'I've got Cameron Munster who's flying and playing Origin and playing great for Melbourne, and then I've got poor Lachie (Ilias) who's in a tough situation there with the Dragons trying to fight his way back in the first grade,' Anasta said. 'I know how emotionally tough it can be and the challenge that does present to these guys, so that's why I can really relate to Toby but at the same time I can relate to Lachie (Galvin) as well, a great opportunity, he's a young gun, he burst onto the scene, got all the clubs after him. He can go wherever he wants and he deserves that because he's put himself in that position.' Despite the Bulldogs and the Eels sitting at complete opposite ends of the ladder and Parramatta desperate for a win, Anasta says there's more riding on the game for the competition leaders. 'If the Dogs do come out now and lose one, two in a row, then the drums will start beating and we've all seen the external pressures of the media and fans and they don't want that,' he said. 'They want to come out, put a good performance in, get the win and they can move on from everything even quicker. It'd be probably a relief for them given the attention that this has received.' Originally published as NRL SuperCoach live scores and analysis: Lachlan Galvin debuts for Bulldogs against Parramatta Eels
Herald Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Herald Sun
‘Can't let him land first': Host lifts lid on explosive Latrell exchange
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Braith Anasta has revealed more details surrounding his fiery dust-up with Latrell Mitchell outside a Sydney restaurant in 2024. The 43-year-old was asked about the exchange on Thursday's Off the Record podcast with The Australian's Andrew Webster and The Daily Telegraph's Buzz Rothfield. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The incident unfolded in Surry Hills while both parties were separately out for dinner at restaurant Chin Chin in May last year. Mitchell had reportedly taken issue with perceived personal attacks by Anasta and approached him inside the restaurant before asking him to step outside. While the exchange never turned physical, Anasta said to he had fears it could have turned nasty. Watch Anasta lift the lid on the explosive exchange in the video player above 'I was thinking in my head, I can't let him land the first one because I'll be gone, because he's a beast,' Anasta said on the Off The Record podcast. 'I'd be lying if I said at some point, I didn't think it might happen. I can understand what he was going through and I can understand how frustrating it is when people have an opinion and you just want to play footy. 'He could have easily called me. He could have easily (talked to me) and I would have spoken to him about it.' Anasta said he thought the confrontation might turn physical. Credit: Off The Record podcast. The incident quickly found its way online with Anasta left disappointed with how Mitchell's camp leaked the story. 'That was another DW (Danny Weidler) stitch up,' he said. Buzz added: 'He (Latrell) leaked his version of it.' Anasta replied: 'Very quickly mind you.' The NRL 360 host then went into further detail on how the whole night played out but clarified he and Latrell are now on good terms. 'Okay, let me get something clear here – before I tell it, me and Latrell are fine,' he said. 'It's not about putting sh*t on him. I don't want that. But what actually happened was, I finished NRL360 and … by Wednesday night, I just want to have a beer, and have something to eat and just relax. 'So, I've gone to Chin Chin's to meet someone there. I hadn't even ordered. I had my back to the restaurant. So I couldn't see anything other than who I was having dinner with. 'Anyway, I hadn't even ordered a drink and I get this tap on my shoulder. I look over my shoulder and it's Latrell. I coached Latrell in the (under) 20s, always had a good relationship with him, and I didn't think anything of it. Braith says he was caught off guard by the confrontation. Credit: Off The Record podcast. Latrell wasn't happy with the NRL 360 host and his constant criticism. (Photo by) 'He goes, 'no, no, no, no. I'm sick of you having a crack at me on 360, yada, yada, yada'. I'm thinking, is he joking here, or is he serious? 'And he goes, let's go outside. By that point, people are looking at us, right? It's the middle of Chin Chin's. It's a busy night. I thought, I need to de-escalate this, or at the very least, I need to get this out of this restaurant, right? 'We go out the front and he just lays, he lays into me, right? He's standing over the top of me and he's having his whack. 'I'm like, mate, okay, slow down. Because there was nothing making sense. It was just abuse. I said, 'mate, what am I doing that isn't right? Is there something that I'm wrong with? Can you just explain to me what you're angry with?' 'They were coming last at the time. I don't know if it was a week or two before, but I'd shown some vision of him at fullback. 'I watch every game of every player … and there were just a few instances where I thought he could be better. 'In that instant, he was over the top of me. I didn't back down at all. I gave as good as I got.' The criticism from Anasta came as the Rabbitohs slumped to to last place on the ladder at the end of round 9, 2024. At the time Anasta and fellow NRL 360 panel members raised questions about Mitchell's place in the team and whether the club should shift him away from the fullback position. Anasta had pointed out that the then 26-year-old Mitchell struggles with defensive positioning as a fullback. 'You look at the great fullbacks in our game and they're there before the play is there. They pre-empt it, they are moving before the ball goes, they are on the bike,' Anasta said. 'He gets caught out a lot in defence, he's very rarely in the frame at the last second when there's a try or when he's got an opportunity to save a try. 'That's where he needs to improve on. That comes down to fitness too Gordie (Gordon Tallis) and comes down to being one of those high energy fullbacks. He plays differently.' Mitchell has turned his form around in 2025 with the fullback staring for the Rabbitohs as well as producing jaw-dropping feats for the NSW Blues in the State of Origin opener. Fair to say there won't be any restaurant confrontations coming if he keeps his stellar play up. Originally published as 'Can't let him land first': Host lifts lid on explosive Latrell exchange
News.com.au
30-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Dangerous' Nathan Cleary sight called out amid brutal Panthers downfall
The Panthers have 'lost their hard edge' and 'swagger' which has resulted in their downfall and ultimately Ivan Cleary's outfit slipping out of the 2025 premiership race. That is according to rugby league legends Braith Anasta and Gorden Tallis, who both admitted they don't believe the four-time premiers will compete for a title this season. What's more, a worrying trend has been exposed in the Panthers' attack, with Nathan Cleary drifting across the field with a lack of options. Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. 'Nathan specifically here, I find those cross shapes, I find them dangerous... what it starts to do to playmakers in the long-term,' Matty Johns said on Matty and Cronk. 'You start to get in that mode of going across and you start to lose that upfield punch.' While Cooper Cronk added: 'They are trying to do the same things and replicate the same style with some players not being able to do it as well as. 'It is forcing some of their better players to try and do a lot more. They look frustrated at the moment. 'With Cleary when your hips are East-West as opposed to North-South, you become less effective as a ball player. 'You can run across the field four or five times, but you need to then get your hips back square to the defensive line and then be able to move.' Anasta, who spent 245 games in the No.6 jersey, explained that exact move is one playmakers revert to when they are lacking options in the backline. 'At the moment they lack confidence, lack belief. They've lost players and they just don't have that punch, so that set-up play is not as effective,' Anasta said on NRL360 on Wednesday night. 'When I was out of form as a half, that was the play I went easy, a drop off, and you do that when you don't have as many options.' Cleary's options have come limited after the departures of a host of big-name stars, with Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris departing ahead of the 2025 season. In years gone by, Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau, Api Koroisau and Stephen Crichton have also moved on, with all of those players winning premierships at the Panthers. Now Penrith sit with only two wins from eight games, with a mammoth task ahead of them to keep their hopes of a fifth straight premiership alive. 'They've lost so much talent, I believe they used to run that play but they had better options,' Tallis said. 'I think they've lost that real hard edge they had... they aren't as hard as they used to be for 80 minutes.' Fox League's James Hooper echoed the opinion of both Anasta and Tallis, explaining the Panthers have a different attitude in 2025. The 'arrogance' of the Panthers between 2021 and 2024 seems to have evaporated, with a host of big-name stars unable to inspire their team to victory. 'They were a side who had a lot of attitude, had a lot of confidence and even a little bit of arrogance and a swagger. Luai would walk in with the boom box blaring,' Hooper said. 'They were an intimidating side to come up against. With all the players that they've lost, they've lost a little bit of that being the side every other team feared.' The Panthers have also featured in the past five grand finals, losing to the Storm in 2020 in a season that kicked off their dynasty. However, with such an elite level of performances across an extended period, comes a fatigued squad. 'I think they are mentally fatigued... to stay up for that long, it's almost inhumane. To be as great as they were for as long as they were,' Anasta said. 'When you've won a comp, to back it up the next year is hard enough let alone to do it for four. 'I hadn't lost hope in the Panthers and I kept saying every week they will be alright. But after the weekend, finally I don't think they can win the premiership this year.' Penrith's form has also cast the spotlight on a host of players in the frame for Origin selection, with Nathan Cleary battling for a spot in the NSW halves. 'If the Panthers continue the way they are, it's a big call to remove the incumbents,' Anasta said. 'These two (Jarome Luai and Mitchell Moses) were some of the best on the field... it becomes a question that may have not been a question a few months ago.' However, both Tallis and The Daily Telegraph's David Riccio poured cold water on any suggestions Cleary doesn't slot back into the No.7 jersey. 'It's a headache, not a migraine. You boys are pretending it's a big migraine,' Tallis said. 'It's a toss up on who plays No.6.' Riccio added: 'He walks straight into the Blues jumper, it's not even a question. He's the best halfback in the game.' However, Anasta pointed to Queensland's selection mentality, claiming that those north of the border would pick and stick with Luai and Moses. 'Queensland are the opposite, they would pick and stick. They have a winning combination there that won last year's series,' Anasta said. 'Cleary is arguably the best player in the comp, but he hasn't done that at Origin level... we are going to change a winning combination for a player who hasn't won that much at NSW level.'
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Channel Nine footy reporter Danny Weidler reveals the bizarre start of his feud with Braith Anasta - after accusing the footy great of threatening to beat him up
Channel Nine reporter Danny Weidler has opened up on the surprising incident behind his feud with Braith Anasta after accusing the former NRL star of threatening to bash him. Weidler, who works for the Sydney Morning Herald in addition to Nine, had been called out by Anasta on his BTFU podcast as he slammed rival NRL pundits who claimed he has a conflict of interest because he is also a player manager. Anasta manages multiple current players and also works as the host of Fox Sports' NRL 360 show, where he regularly discusses player contracts and movements. On the podcast, Anasta talked about holding a charity boxing bout against journalists. 'Sign me up. Sign me up now,' he said. When his co-host and fellow ex-NRL star Reni Maitua suggested Weidler's SMH colleague Michael Chammas, Anasta replied, 'Don't worry about Chammas, the other bloke, Weidler. I'd love to [fight him].' Weidler then hit back at Anasta in his SMH column earlier this month. 'The smart approach from Anasta would be to keep his head down instead of saying he wants to bash people about 15 years older than him,' Weidler wrote. 'This columnist is definitely not Mike Tyson, but I'm not so sure that Anasta doesn't think he is Jake Paul.' Now Weidler has used his appearance on the How's That? podcast to reveal what he believes started the feud - and whether he'd punch on with the 43-year-old. 'Braith? No,' he said when he was asked about getting into the ring. When pressed further on why Anasta had called him out for a fight, Weidler said: 'He doesn't like me because I call him out as having conflicts of interest as a player-manager. 'People don't always like the truth. 'Everybody's got some other role in the game and with Braith... no, he's 15 years younger than me, he's fitter than a Mallee bull.' Weidler then revealed he had previously beaten the former Bulldogs star over 18 holes of golf - despite the fact Anasta is highly skilled at the sport. Pictured: A mocked-up boxing promotion featuring Weidler and Anasta that's on the former Bulldogs star's Instagram 'He won't like this story being out,' Weidler began. 'Many years ago we played a game of golf together on the coast and I beat him. 'I reckon that's why he doesn't like me... there are other reasons. 'He wants to fight me in the ring. 'I'm not silly enough to take on a bloke who is 15 years younger than me.' Anasta has previously been questioned regarding his alleged conflict of interest. He claimed the accusations - which were brought up as Anasta commented on the stunning split between the Wests Tigers and teenage star Lachlan Galvin - were 'hypocrisy' as Nine and SMH commentators have their own divided loyalties. But Weidler had subsequently clapped back at that. 'To try to dismiss the criticism, Anasta chose instead to attack the Nine network and its highest-profile figure Phil Gould in a podcast, calling him out because of his dual roles as a TV expert and the boss of the Bulldogs. None of this was new,' Weidler wrote. 'He then tried to attack the likes of Paul Gallen, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and even Andrew Johns but barely laid a verbal glove on them. 'It was not a well-considered or well-thought-out rant, but it has been noted by some of the people who he thinks are his mates.'
Sydney Morning Herald
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Agents juggling players and coaches are afforded plenty of leeway
I don't watch much of Anasta's to-camera stuff, and I've no view whether his opinions favour his clients' interests or not. But even if they do, do those circumstances constitute Anasta having a conflict of interest? Hardly. That would assume someone in Anasta's position in the media lives in a soundproof room. Being prominent in the media isn't relevant to either test. Anasta has no more of a conflict of interest than does Peter V'landys, by reason of him merely being Racing NSW CEO and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman. V'landys has no such conflict; thoroughbred racing and rugby league are two plainly different sports. Moreover, Anasta isn't exactly Robinson Crusoe in terms of someone in the media having a side hustle. Phil Gould, for example, is an expert commentator for Channel Nine, publishers of this masthead, and general manager of football at the Bulldogs. And that's fine. Nevertheless, would it be advisable for Anasta to veer away from expressing views that obviously touch on the interests of his clients? Yes. And I speak with some authority. I've practised as a lawyer, specialising in sports law, for over two decades. Among other roles, I'm an arbitrator with the National Sports Tribunal, the chair of the Combat Sports Authority of NSW, a member of the Harness Racing NSW appeals panel, and a member of the ethics panel of the International Testing Agency, which manages anti-doping programs for the International Olympic Committee and over 45 international federations. Also, I've written this column for 12 years. There's so much I'll never be able to write about, as much as it would make for tremendous copy. By virtue of his media role, Anasta is compelled to have opinions; nobody's going to watch someone that everyone invariably agrees with. My role as a columnist gives me a mere fraction of the prominence of Anasta, and my professional obligations far exceed his because I'm a lawyer, who is required to shoulder the ethical obligations that go hand in glove with all that. I routinely agonise about what I can say, and what I can't. I've no idea whether Anasta is afflicted with such angst. He should be. But he still doesn't have a conflict of interest in the proper sense. The more pertinent matter for examination is the level of power that exists to regulate player agents in terms of their professional obligations and conflicts of interest. It's the system of regulating sports agents involved in rugby league, and in professional sport in general in Australia, which is where things run out of steam. There are currently about 150 sports agents registered under the NRL's mandatory Accredited Agents Scheme, which entitles them to represent rugby league players in contract negotiations with clubs. There were 105 agents registered just five years ago. Each of the 17 clubs has an elite squad capped at 30 players. That's just over 500 potential clients already involved at the game's highest level. Of the cohort of registered agents, most have no top-level clients, or maybe one. Player agency is as speculative an enterprise as scurraging in the dirt for truffles. Agents vacuum up umpteen 16-year- olds with stars in their eyes in the knowledge that maybe one of the crop will, one day, generate a commission. At the other end of the spectrum to the agents struggling with few or no clients, there's a cabal of uber agents, including the invariably-in-the-headlines Isaac Moses, who have sequestered the market. In addition to the countless superstars and emerging players on his books, Moses oversees the affairs of not less than five of the 17 NRL head coaches. Think about it: it would be nearly impossible to get the best possible contractual terms for all of your clients in that scenario, where basically there's one single market: the National Rugby League. Conjecture over whether Anasta has conflicting interests by reason of his media prominence and his nascent player agency business misses the bigger issue. The NRL does a poor job of regulating the agency profession, which in turn is largely not the NRL's fault. It's seriously arguable that the whole concept of a governing body licensing and regulating player agency constitutes an unreasonable restraint on the trade of those wanting to act as player agents, and it's also a breach of Australia's competition laws. That argument has never been assessed in the Australian courts; push too hard, and it could be. In 2021, the NRL's appeals panel confirmed Moses' deregistration as a player agent, consequent to rules breaches of apparent 'great seriousness'. It wasn't his first offending – he also was banned for six months over a decade ago, arising from the Melbourne Storm salary cap affair. Yet in 2025, Moses operates like a puppeteer in rugby league. His last deregistration remained in force for less than two years. Somehow, that fact sits at odds with a finding that a professional person committed rules transgressions of 'great seriousness'. The stint on rugby league's naughty step never adversely affected Moses' registration as a rugby union player agent, nor the ability of other agents within his business to carry on. Now, he's more influential than ever. Player agents provide quasi-legal, financial and accounting services in negotiations that are complex, and where tremendous amounts of the folding stuff and livelihoods are bargained. Loading Lawyers, accountants and financial advisers are heavily regulated by governments and professional regulatory bodies. In contrast, player agents in rugby league subscribe to a code of conduct that requires them to (a) not take improper advantage of their position; and (b) not intermingle their personal interests with their professional responsibilities. Agents, however, aren't restricted in terms of a maximum number of clients, the number of clients playing in the same positions, the number of players who they represent at any given club, or in terms of representing coaching staff and media types as well as players. But regardless of what the NRL's rules say, there's a toothlessness to their operation in practice, as is evidenced by Moses' own registration history. It's not wrong that professional sports regulate agents; it's fundamental. But it's only part of the solution. What must sit alongside sports regulating certain aspects of agents' conduct and activities is statutory intervention. It's been that way in the US for over 20 years; almost all 50 states have adopted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act in some form, or another regulatory framework. And in answer to the argument that it would be governmental overreach, the Entertainment Industry Act in NSW establishes a compulsory code with the force of law, regulating the activities of anyone who for financial benefit negotiates arrangements for, and otherwise represents, clowns and acrobats. Those laws carry criminal sanctions as a consequence of the most egregious conduct. No corresponding laws apply to rugby league agents.
