Brandon Smith is officially a member of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, thus concluding a failed stint at the Sydney Roosters that club legend Braith Anasta claims was doomed from the start.
Smith joined the Bondi-based club with hopes of securing a premiership; however was awarded very little opportunity by head coach Trent Robinson to attempt to reach that dream.
Anasta has slammed his former club for their handling of Smith throughout his tenure, admitting he was never sold on his signature in the first place.
โI was the most outspoken about the Smith signing,โ he said on NRL 360.
โI didn't think the experiment would work, and it didn't, and I copped a bit of criticism for it.โ
He claims the former Storm star was simply signed to play the wrong position, a fact that the Roosters seemingly swept under the rug.
โThe Roosters needed a specialist nine; they got rid of their grand final-winning nine and got a 13 [in Smith] and tried to transform him into a nine.
โHe can play nine pretty well, but he's a lock in my opinion."
Veteran journalist Andrew Webster has revealed the disappointing reaction from the club following Smith's departure.
โThe way they flaunted his [Smith's] signing, particularly getting one over Bennett in getting him after he'd already done the deal with Bennett at the Dolphins.
"I've talked to [Roosters chairman] Nick Politis about it. It was pretty shameless with how they celebrated.โ
Foxsports.com.au's Paul Crawley says the issue around the Roosters' recruitment goes deeper than Smith's signing a couple of years back, indicating it's the club's attitude in negotiations.
โWhat got [Smith] over the line at the Roosters was the holier than thou approach that they took him out to meet the board, he had pizzas at Robbo's. He was wined and dined, and Smith came out after that and said that Robbo said he'd make him a better man.
โWhere I had a problem with it was that the Roosters knew they were signing one of the game's great rouges who was a wild child."
Crawley went on to criticise the club for what came after the Kiwi international joined the Tri-Colours, an argument that is hard to disagree with, considering how things have played out.
โTwo and a half years later, they've shown him the door because there's a shiny new toy that's come along in the form of Reece Robson.
โThey didn't give him [Smith] the time to come good on their side of the promise.โ
It seems 'The Cheese' has found a new home with Wayne Bennett and the Rabbitohs, with the 28-year-old hoping to suit up for his new club in the coming weeks.
