From news.com.au   18 June 2001




Tricky part of an odd couple
By JAMES HOOPER
18jun01


BULLDOGS halves Darrell Trindall and Braith Anasta are rugby league's odd couple.


Yesterday, at Marathon Stadium, the unlikely pair combined to sink Newcastle 46-18 in front of 16,645 people and rescue the Bulldogs from their most embarrassing fortnight this year.


Trindall is the wily, occasionally controversial, veteran who was steering South Sydney through some lean years about the same time his halves partner was just hitting puberty.


Anasta is the fresh face of the game with a blue blood pedigree tagged the next Brad Fittler by Bulldogs chairman Barry Nelson earlier this season.


Their link is the Rabbitohs, where Anasta played all his junior football.


Some might argue Trindall would not be the ideal mentor for a young up and coming prodigy -- Anasta disagrees.


"He's a great mentor -- definitely," the Bulldogs five-eighth said after bagging a pair of tries against the Knights.


"I love playing with Tricky, we combine well and we know each other's game very well.


"We're both South Sydney boys.


"I've grown up watching Tricky so I know the style of footy he plays and he's taught me a lot about the game."


The dynamic duo have only been at the helm of the Dogs on three occasions with the ledger reading two victories and one draw.


They dusted the Cowboys in Townsville and then smashed the Knights yesterday and the draw, significantly, came against newly installed premiership favourites Parramatta.


"Our games are based on attack and Braith's attack is right up there with the best in the business," Trindall said.


"I love playing with Braith and the Bulldogs, we've got a big bunch of forwards and we showed what we're capable of today."


The Bulldogs looked in trouble early after Newcastle had all the ball and were permanently parked on the Dogs tryline.


When they finally got a whiff and the opportunity to break out of the kennel they were locked in, it was Trindall and Anasta who did the damage.


Trindall set up the Dogs' first try with a deft grubber kick for centre Willie Talau.


Then Anasta's kicking game started to catch the eye.


The promising youngster simply dropped the ball on his boot and chased it through to score the Dogs' second and from that point on his short kicking game was a highlight.


He had the ball on a string whenever he used his array of close quarter kicks however his long kicking game was far from perfect.


His partner in crime Tricky Trindall did his share with the boot too, setting up Anasta for his second try.


Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes said kicking had been letting his side down this season so he installed champion halfback Ricky Stuart to do some work with his troops.