ROOSTERS playmaker Braith Anasta has revealed his mental anguish at being overlooked for the Kangaroos for last October's Test against New Zealand - because he doesn't believe incumbent Greg Bird is a five-eighth.

"It knocked me around," Anasta told the Herald. "They put Bird in there and he's not a natural five-eighth. He does a great job there and he could be a five-eighth one day. But at the time, he wasn't. It knocked me around but I've set myself a goal this year not to worry about rep football.

"I used to get wound up last year about it because I thought I was a fair shot. It can do your head in. You're thinking you're doing all right, people are talking you up, then bang! You're not. I don't regret any of it. It's made me stronger. It's probably why I'm playing better now because I'm not worrying about all that crap."

With Darren Lockyer in extreme doubt for the Centenary Test against the Kiwis at the SCG on May 9 because of his lingering knee problem, selectors face the same conundrum as they did last time they convened.

Anasta or Bird?

Then they opted for Bird, despite Anasta's white-hot form that nearly spirited the Roosters into the finals. When Bird's teammate at Cronulla, lock Paul Gallen, was ruled out with injury, they ignored calls to move Bird into the back row and bring in Anasta.

"If it happens this time, you won't find a happier bloke," Anasta said. "If I don't [make the team], I guarantee I'll handle it better now than I have in the past."

Tonight, at CUA Stadium against Penrith, Anasta has another chance to state his case. Working in his favour is that, this time around, he is playing better.

Of all the individuals who have benefited from Brad Fittler's expedient appointment as head coach, it's clear to all Anasta has profited the most. Go in search of the reason and the answer isn't secret dawn sessions at Centennial Park or hours spent before the video. It isn't even the bloody grog ban. All Anasta has ever wanted - like all of us needy souls - is to be loved and respected.

And while he says the following without a skerrick of disrespect to his former coaches since exploding onto the scene at the Bulldogs seven seasons ago, it appears it's taken a rookie coach to truly unlock it.

"The big thing is he has a lot of respect for me - and he backs me, which is something I've probably haven't had much since I've played first grade," Anasta said.

What, his whole career? Under Steve Folkes, Ricky Stuart and Chris Anderson?

"I just think, because I got pumped up so much as a player when I was younger, everyone expected so much of me, even the coaches. Not that I have any complaints, but everyone did. Freddy knows what it's like to be in that position. He went through it more than anyone. He's just given me that confidence and that belief. It's really helped me. I feel like I've got the backing of the players now and they respect me. I've always struggled with that, because of all that crap I've gone through. I don't think people, or players, have really respected me. Now I feel I've got it."

The crap, of course, is his perpetual selection as the game's most overrated player in Rugby League Week's annual players' poll - a title Fittler earned in 2001 during a season in which he contemplated retirement.

Anasta never came that close when groin injuries had many questioning at the end of 2006 where the whiz-kid had disappeared to. But he did begin to believe in Anderson's wisdom when he suggested a move to lock.

Given the shimmer coming off the Roosters' attack this year - "the crispness" as Anasta calls it - it's a blessing it didn't happen.

"Because I had an ordinary year the season before, I started thinking that lock was my go," he said. "I wanted to do what was best by my team and, at that stage, I thought lock was best for the team. It really wasn't that. It was because I'd struggled with my groin. I had no speed or footwork. Now, I don't want to play anywhere else. It's clear that five-eighth is my position. The thing for me - and others have said this a lot - is finding the balance between passing and running. I'm feeling I'm there at the moment."

And feeling the love.

The victory over defending premiers Melbourne in round three confirmed the Roosters are 24-carat contenders.

Anasta was the chief architect of that result and when he walked into the dressing room chairman Nick Politis was on the phone. He'd just listened to a call of the game down the line while driving a hire car around Greece.

"I was a bit shocked but it meant a lot to me," Anasta said. "Because I respect him."

He is learning, like many at his club, that the feeling is mutual.