Braith Anasta has fired back at St George Illawarra Dragons Chairman Andrew Lancaster, who took an indirect shot at the NRL 360 co-host and the media earlier in the day.
Earlier in the day on Monday morning, Lancaster pointed the finger at the media for their handling of the club and former head coach Shane Flanagan in recent weeks as the club remains winless to begin the season.
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Despite not naming names, it’s believed he was alluding to Braith Anasta and him talking about the club’s dramas and issues on NRL 360.
“There has been a lot of media coverage of the Dragons over these past few weeks. A lot of it absolutely deserved. Some of it poor, and some of it about personal agendas,” Lancaster said at a press conference confirming Flanagan’s departure on Monday.
“I’ve been in media longer than most. Our coverage of this great game, of this great club, should be better.
“Readers, viewers and listeners do deserve better.
“I didn’t say it was unfair, I said a lot of it was poor. And I said there were personal agendas being dealt with along the way.”
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In response, Anasta fired back at the Dragons Chairman and WIN Corporation CEO stating that is was “weak as piss” to try and point the finger at him and the media as well as stating that he needs to take accountability for his poor decisions since he arrived at the Dragons.
“I’m a big boy,” Anasta responded on NRL 360.
“I think it’s a convenient narrative Andrew Lancaster is pushing to try and smother his own poor leadership and decisions that he has made the last couple of years.
“To try and point his finger at the media and me, indirectly, I thought was weak as piss, just like his press conference was. He took no accountability today.
“He had an opportunity to have some backbone, to have some balls and sit there and say I’ve made some poor decisions, we’ve made some poor decisions, we’ve got it wrong at times.
“But to reiterate to the fans, the St George Illawarra fans that we’re not going to stand for it any longer. We’re going to make the right decisions moving forward and we’re going to be better.
“Instead, he tried to blame it on everyone else bar himself and I don’t know if he’s come at me or not but he’s come at the media. You don’t need to be Einstein to work out that they’ve created records by losing 11 games in a row.”
Not only did Anasta take offence to the indirect comments made by Lancaster, but the former NRL star stated that the fans deserve better than what is currently happening at the club.
This includes the exit of six-time Origin representative Jaydn Su’A to the Eels, one of their most promising juniors in Loko Pasifika Tonga wanting to leave and the extension given to Flanagan at the back end of last season
“They’ve got Jaydn Su’A and leaders willing to leave the club early. They’ve got their best, most promising, upcoming New South Wales Under-19s Australian Schoolboy [Loko Pasifiki Tonga] wanting to leave .
“You’ve got Lancaster being involved in reappointing and upgrading Shane Flanagan when they’re coming 11th and there’s not one other club interested in his services for an extension for another two years, then he sacks him eight months later.
“Get your head out of the sand, mate. This isn’t anyone else’s fault. Look in the mirror yourself cause stop looking everywhere else because like you mentioned earlier this club deserves better.
“The fans deserve better and this stems way further and way past Shane Flanagan.
“Yeah this was the right call they had to make it but that press-conference to me showed that the problems are far deeper than just the coach that has been sacked because it goes all the way through the club and their leadership
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