Eels 12 Roosters 32

HELL hath no fury like a rep player scorned. Especially Braith Anasta, who last night inspired the Roosters to a convincing victory over the Eels in front of 16,211 souls at Parramatta Stadium.

Unwanted by his state, scorned by reports he was on the nose with other rep players and eternally motivated to silence his doubters, the Roosters five-eighth essentially flipped his middle finger at NSW selectors, who considered Greg Bird a better option heading into the opening match of the State of Origin series against Queensland.

Anasta scored two tries and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck when the Roosters needed him to.

"I feel sorry for Anasta," NSW coach Craig Bellamy told the Herald. "I feel sorry for five or six players who didn't make it. It's a bit like handing out invitations to your wedding. You want 110 people to come, but the room only holds 100."

Parramatta halfback Brett Finch and second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh had every reason to feel aggrieved about being overlooked for the opening match at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday evening.

But it is Anasta who has every right to feel like he is always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

His solo effort in the first half - stepping off his right foot to score from a standing start close to the line - kept the Roosters in the game. His fingertip control in juggling a deft kick from halfback Mitchell Pearce - also unwanted for higher honours but equally as slick - to cross in the 55th minute pushed them out to an unassailable 22-8 lead.

While Anasta must have worn a contented smile as the Roosters headed back down Parramatta Road last night, the post-mortem would not have been pleasant for Eels coach Michael Hagan.

His side surrendered three soft tries early in the second half and, while it is still early in the season, there must be grave doubts about their premiership bona fides at this point.

Remember: they were considered the team best placed to reel in the Storm. They are struggling to justify a top-eight finish.

Worse still for Parramatta is the recurrence of a right knee injury to centre Ben Smith, who has only been back for two games but was forced off in the first half. He will undergo scans today.

Parramatta led 8-6 at the break thanks to a penalty goal from fullback Luke Burt right on the stroke of half-time. As the players left the field, Robbie Williams was belting out Let Me Entertain You over the loudspeakers. You sense that if Robbie had seen this half of football he would've spiralled into the vortex of booze and devil's dandruff again. Yes, it was that bad.

In fact, Roosters coach Brad Fittler - sitting on the sideline for the first time in his short coaching career with arms folded and discerning, Gus-like look on his face - can't have been impressed from his closer vantage point.

Anasta's towering, spiralling bomb in the eighth minute went so dead it warranted an obituary notice in the paper and prompted one wag in the press box to remark: "Yeah, NSW are really going to struggle without that kicking game."

If his first-half performance is anything to go by, Finch's kicking game won't really be missed on Wednesday night, either - although his grubber in the 25th minute that bounced off Roosters interchange forward Frank-Paul Nuuausala should have yielded a try to Daniel Wagon and not a penalty for interference.

What they might miss is Finch's vision. He is no world-beater, the little man, but he can sniff out a try from under 10 feet of wet cement. His left-to-right pass in the 18th minute went the length of the Gladesville Bridge and hit winger Eric Grothe on the chest. Burt's sideline conversion handed the Eels a 6-0 lead.

But if anyone wanted to make a point last night it was Anasta. He could not have underlined that any more than in the 27th minute, when he received the ball five metres out from the tryline …

Right-foot step, bang!

Right-foot step, bang!

It was a try from nothing that said so much.

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 32 (B Anasta 2 S Soliola S Sa B Grose M Pearce tries A Roberts 4 goals) bt PARRAMATTA 12 (E Grothe J Reddy tries L Burt 2 goals) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: S Hayne. Crowd: 16,211.