Braith Anasta was born on January 14th, 1982.
He was the first.
41 years later, there is potentially dozens of rugby league players in this country named Braith.
How did we get here?
It is my contention, based on basically nothing and very little research, that the Australian former professional rugby league player and current Fox Sports pundit Braith Anasta is the first person to ever be named Braith. The first... of many.
Wiktionary explains that Braith is an Irish word, from the Middle Irish ‘braithid’, meaning to betray or spy.
If you go to the Wikipedia page for Braith it tells you that it is a surname, with two notable people listed. Anton Braith, a German landscape painter who died 118 years ago, and George Braith, a soul-jazz saxophonist from New York, whose 1967 album Musart was hailed by Thom Jurek of AllMusic as “his masterpiece”. Upon further inspection, George Braith is a fake Braith. His surname is actually Braithwaite.
Braithwaite is a fairly well-known last name. You’ve got Daryl of Horses fame, former West Indian Test cricketer Carlos and Danish footballer Martin, who played 58 games for Barcelona.
But they’re not Braiths.
At the bottom of the Braith Wikipedia page, we find our alleged patient zero.
Anasta was born in Sydney to a Greek father, Peter, and an Australian mother, Kim. A well-known rugby league fun fact is that Anasta’s full surname is Anastasakis. Much like George Braith is a fake Braith, it seems Braith is a fake Anasta. But I digress.
So, maybe it’s a Greek name? That seems unlikely. Babynames.com suggests Braith is a female name of Welsh origin, meaning Black and White.
A 2013 BlogSpot post from ‘Baby Name Pondering’ did a bit of digging themselves on the name and found similar. Although, they mention a Welsh person saying they’ve never seen the name used before in Wales. Hmm. Interestingly, the author of the blog, a Victorian, notes that they had never even heard the name before and only noticed it when they saw it popping up in the 0-9 months and 10-25 months categories of the Bonds Baby Search competition.
They believe, much like me, that the inspiration for all current Braiths is the man himself – Braith Anasta.
Searching Braith on Google only brings up Anasta. Well, Anasta and a very minor female character from the smash hit 2011 video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. These two Braiths may be the only two in mainstream media and one is made of pixels.
A basic Facebook search of the name Braith gives me a lot of people named Braith. They’re almost all from Australia and none of them look like old men. IMDb, the online movie database, only has one Braith (Braith Anasta) and I know because I scrolled for ages.
I don’t care about real life so I continue my search in the sports realm. The next stop is the Sports Reference sites. Sports Reference is an American company that runs several sites focusing on several different sports. They have profiles for thousands of players. Let’s search.
Baseball Reference – 0
Pro Football Reference – 0
College Football Reference – 0
Basketball Reference – 0
College Basketball Reference – 0
Hockey Reference – 0
Soccer Reference – 0
Let’s try Olympedia, an Olympics database. The Olympics, we all know it. It’s been going for like 127 years. Surely there’s a Braith in there. Well, guess what.
Olympedia – 0
Rugby League Project, arguably the internet’s best site, has but one Braith.
Do you want to know a website where you can find at least 14 Braiths on?
That’s right. 18thman.com. A site focusing on junior rugby league with a collection of stats and history, the majority from the year 2000 onward.
The year 2000. The year of Braith Anasta’s NRL debut. And when do all these Braiths start popping up? 16 to 18 years later…
There are about 11437 players in my database of players who have played in the junior representative competitions of the New South Wales and Queensland Rugby League since 2009. At the top of the list of most common first names, we have boring names like Jack, Josh, Tom and Sam. Nestled down at 139th, we have Braith. 13 of them.1
Three of the 13 first appeared in 2018, playing in under-16 competitions. Meaning, they were either born in 2002 or 2003. It all just makes too much damn sense.
My second contention. All these players were literally named after Braith Anasta.
And one of them will be the second Braith to play in the National Rugby League. But who?
Ok so first, Braith Anasta is the one true Braith. There were 100% no Braiths in first-grade rugby league in Australia until he debuted and (probably) zero others while he came through the grades. From 1908 to 1999 - zero Braiths.
I have pretty extensive records of the Jersey Flegg Cup (New South Wales under-20s) and Colts Challenge (Queensland under-19s) from about 2002 to 2007 and there are also none.
I trust that my complete Toyota / Holden Cup records are pretty accurate and there are also no Braiths. That’s 2008 to 2017. Which makes sense. There is only one true Braith at this time and all succeeding Braiths would be too young to play in these competitions. Technically, a real early Braith-er, possibly born after Anasta’s debut on 2 June 2000, could have played in the 2017 Holden Cup but it did not happen.
During this Toyota / Holden Cup period, Braith Anasta retired in 2014. After a 14-year run of a Braith presence in the NRL, he has left us.
Now we move on to 2018, where we have our first non-Anasta Braith sightings. From here on out, one of these Braiths could potentially be the second Braith to ever play in the NRL.
Saturday, February 10th. 9:40 am. Braith Alexander becomes our second Braith.
The son of Panthers legend and alleged old flog Greg Alexander, he starts at halfback for Penrith in their 22–0 win over Balmain in the under-16 Harold Matthews Cup.
14 days later, we have Braith III. Braith Lawrence-Foye comes off the bench for the Illawarra South Coast Dragons in the under-16 Andrew Johns Cup competition. They win the game 20–4.
21 days after that, a fourth emerges. Braith Crane, wearing jersey #19, starts at five-eighth for the Riverina Bulls in a 42–16 loss to Penrith in the Andrew Johns Cup.
Only a week later, we have the first ever documented game of rugby league where two teams have a guy named Braith. On Saturday, March 24, at Leeton’s Leeton No. 1 Oval in Leeton, Braith Lawrence-Foye’s Illawarra South Coast side defeats Braith Crane’s Riverina side 22–0. Lawrence-Foye capped the historic occasion with a try.
Over the next five years, the Braiths start coming and they don’t stop coming.
In 2019, Braith Ashurst becomes our first Queensland Braith when he debuts for the Western Mustangs under-18 Mal Meninga Cup side. In 2021, he achieved another first when he became the first Braith to play in the under-21 Hastings Deering Colts competition. Meanwhile, Braith Alexander and Braith Lawrence-Foye continue to rise through the grades for their clubs.
2020 was an insane year, known for two things. The COVID-19 pandemic and the debut of two more Braiths. Braith Powick begins playing for the North Coast Bulldogs in the Andrew Johns Cup while Braith Major debuts for Redcliffe’s Mal Meninga Cup side on Saturday, March 14, just days before the country shuts down. Coincidence?
It’s 2021 and we’re back with a fucking bang. Braith Alexander progresses from Penrith’s under-18 SG Ball Cup side to their under-21 Jersey Flegg Cup side. That’s right, on Saturday, May 8, Alexander debuts in the Jersey Flegg becoming the first Braith to play in the competition since the one true Braith himself back in 2000. Elsewhere, a 16-year-old named Braith Boyd debuts for the Western Rams Andrew Johns Cup side. In the newly formed under-16 Cyril Connell Challenge in Queensland, Braith Clark appears for the Western Mustangs, Braith Goessler pops up for Ipswich, Braith Johnston runs out for Souths Logan and Braith Smith lines up for the CQ Capras. Four Braiths in one competition! We’re reaching ridiculous levels here.
In 2022, Braith Lawrence-Foye joins Braith Anasta and Braith Alexander in the Jersey Flegg history books when he makes his debut for Victoria. Penrith’s Harold Matthews side welcomed its second Braith, as Braith Boyd joins the fray.
Two Braiths pop up in the National Schoolboy competition; Illawarra Sports High’s Braith Plecas and The Grange P-12 College’s Braith Filivaa-Palalagi. A Polynesian Braith? The first? Possibly.
Back in Queensland, Braith Clubb from the Northern Pride and Braith Dowson from Townsville play in the Cyril Connell Challenge. Braith Major moves up to the Hastings Deering Colts, becoming the competition’s second Braith, and plays for Redcliffe and the Western Clydesdales in the same season. Queensland is literally infested with Braiths at this point.
It’s now April 2023 and there have been five Braiths running amok in the junior rep scene so far. In New South Wales, Braith Alexander has moved to the Roosters Jersey Flegg side, potentially as a homage to Braith Anasta. Braith Lawrence-Foye has returned to Wollongong and plays for the Dragons Jersey Flegg side, while Braith Boyd went back out west and played for the Western Rams under-18 Laurie Daley Cup side. In Queensland, Braith Clubb once again ran out for the Pride’s under-16 side, while Braith Smith debuted for the Capras Mal Meninga Cup side. The Hastings Deering Colts has just kicked off once again Braith Major is lining up for Redcliffe.
The race for the NRL’s second Braith continues. Major, Lawrence-Foye and Alexander are all playing in a high level of competition, under the watchful eye of NRL clubs. One of them may break the reserve grade barrier and play open men’s rugby league this year. Or perhaps it’ll be another Braith. If there’s been 13 appear in just six years, surely there’s a lot more out th-
Wait a minute.
…
Braith.... en…
Braithen.
I’ve just found three Braithens. And one Braithan… and also one Braythen.
Are these Braiths? Is it like a Josh / Joshua situation? Do these Braithen/Braithans/Braythens also go by Braith? Maybe they’re just Braithens and don’t identify as Braith at all? Are some of the Braiths actually Braithens? What am I doing with my life? Is Braithen Aspin actually the second Braith?
Braithen Aspin debuted for the Parramatta Eels’ Harold Matthews team in 2017. One year before Braith Alexander.
Then in the following years we see – Braithen Knox for Townsville’s under-18s in 2020, Braithan (with an A) Ketchell for the Northern Pride’s under-16s and Braythen Porter (with a Y) for the Pride’s under-21s in 2021 and Braithen Scott for the Western Clydesdales under-16s just this year.2
The Definitive Braith Timeline
Big bang to 1981 – nothing
1982 – Braith Anasta is born
1983 to 1999 – nothing
2000 – Braith Anasta make his NRL debut
2001 to 2016 – countless Braiths being born
2017 – Braithen Aspin, allegedly the first new Braith (disputed), appears. Born approx. 2001
2018 – 3 Braiths appear (Alexander, Crane & Lawrence-Foye)
2019 – 1 Braith appears (Ashurst)
2020 – 2 Braiths appear (Major, Powick), 1 Braithen (Knox)
2021 – 5 Braiths appear (Boyd, Clark, Goessler, Johnston, Smith), 1 Braithan (Ketchell) and a Braythen (Porter)
2022 – 4 Braiths appear (Clubb, Dowson, Plecas, Filivaa-Palalagi)
2023 – 1 Braithen appears (Scott)
In conclusion, Braith Anasta's legacy in the rugby league world extends beyond his successful career as a player and commentator. Being the first ever Braith, he has inspired numerous young rugby players to carry on his name and make a mark of their own. His unique name has become a symbol of strength, resilience, and dedication in the sport. As we move forward, we can expect to see more young players named after this rugby league legend, and his impact on the sport will continue to be felt for generations to come.3
Next on the agenda, all the players named after Gorden Tallis.
An addendum
Ok, so it’s about a week since I originally posted this and I’ve found something.
I can’t believe I didn’t stumble on this before.
On the website behindthename.com, there’s a profile for the name Braith. It’s usage is listed as “Australian, Rare”. It’s meaning is uncertain, although it notes the Welsh origin that I also found. Users can rate names and 85% rated the name Braith as “strange”. But its in the comment section that’s the most interesting.
User Babybaby posted on June 9th 2017:
My husband's name is Braith and he was born in 1959 in Australia and according to him his parents made the name up from another name. His mother was descended from Scott/Irish grandparents so maybe the origin comes from Antrim in Northern Ireland or maybe from a name on a map somewhere in Australia.
The first Braith?
Update – May 30
Today (Tuesday, May 30 2023) a player named Anasta Tamwoy started on the wing for St Brendan’s College Yeppoon’s NRL Schoolboy Cup team in their 24–4 over Shalom College Bundaberg.
There’s also a Lebron, a Beyonce and a Kanye. And also a Lebronson.
Three more Queensland Braiths, what is going on?
ChatGPT wrote this. But I 100% agree with it’s sentiments.