Chris Anderson (rugby): Difference between revisions

|position = {{Rlp|WG|FE}}

'''Christopher "Opes" Anderson''' (born 2 May 1952) is an Australian former professional [[rugby league]] footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and [[Coach (sport)|coach]]ed in the 1990s and 2000s. An [[Australian Kangaroos]] and [[New South Wales rugby league team|New South Wales Blues]] representative winger, he featured in [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]]'s third grand final win and captained [[Halifax R.L.F.C.|Halifax]] to both League and Cup success.

As a coach, Anderson took Australia to victory in the [[2000 Rugby League World Cup|2000 World Cup]] victory and coached both Canterbury-Bankstown and [[Melbourne Storm]] to premiership wins. He is also a member of the Halifax Hall of Fame.{{cn|date=May 2023}} His nickname was "Opes".<ref>{{cite news |author=[[Roy Masters (rugby league)|Roy Masters]] |agency= |title=Anderson jumped before he was pushed as Roosters sought quick fix |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/anderson-jumped-before-he-was-pushed-as-roosters-sought-quick-fix-20070711-gdql7y.html |quote= |newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2007-07-11 |access-date=2023-05-08 }}</ref>

Anderson was a {{rlp|wg}} who was recruited by [[Peter Bullfrog Moore|Peter Moore]] from [[Forbes, New South Wales]], where he attended [[Red Bend Catholic College]]. As a flankman for the Canterbury side, Anderson gave the club a vital tryscoring power which had been quite absent from Belmore throughout the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="summary">[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/teams/canterbury-bankstown-bulldogs/seasons.html Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season summary]</ref> [[1974 NSWRFL season|In 1974]], when Canterbury-Bankstown reached the Grand Final, Anderson broke [[Morrie Murphy]]'s 1947 record of sixteen tries for the club.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Anderson surpassed [[Eddie Burns]]' club record for Canterbury-Bankstown of 65 tries in 1978.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Anderson is one of the few people to play and coach competition winning sides in both [[Rugby league in Australia|Australia]] and [[Rugby league in England|England]]. He is also one of the few people to coach two different clubs to [[National Rugby League|NRL]]/[[New South Wales Rugby League|NSWRL]] Premiership success. Anderson returned to Australia after playing/coaching in the British 1987–88 season and was appointed coach of the [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs]] Under 21s team for the 1989 season.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

The formation of the [[Melbourne Storm]] saw Anderson become their firstinaugural coach. His son, [[Ben Anderson (rugby league)|Ben]], played 17 games for Melbourne. Anderson was appointed coach of the [[Australia national rugby league team|Australian national team]] in March 1999, replacing [[Wayne Bennett (rugby league)|Wayne Bennett]].<ref>{{cite news

|access-date = 7 October 2009}}</ref> On the [[2001 Kangaroo Tour]], when coaching [[Australia national rugby league team|Australia]], Anderson, was taken to a [[Wigan]] hospital after complaining of chest pains during the first half of the deciding third test match against [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]] at the [[JJB Stadium]]. He had suffered a non-fatal [[myocardial infarction]] but made a full recovery.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Anderson was appointed coach of the [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] for two seasons in [[National Rugby League season 2002|2002]] and [[National Rugby League season 2003|2003]], getting them one game short of the Grand Final in 2002. Anderson was sacked in dramatic circumstances over disagreements with the club's management on the future direction of the team, largely centred on his decision to replace the existing {{rlp|hb}}, [[Preston Campbell]] with new signing [[Brett Kimmorley]] in the starting side.{{cn|date=May 2023}} He also continually picked his son, [[Jarrad Anderson|Jarrad]], at the expense of [[Matt King (rugby player)|Matt King]], who ended up moving to the [[Melbourne Storm]] where his career blossomed.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} At the end of the [[2003 NRL season]], he went on the [[2003 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France]], coaching Australia to victory over [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]] in what would be the last time the two nations contested an [[Ashes series]]. After five successful seasons Anderson's tenure as coach of Australia came to a halt following the successful 2003 whitewash of [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]].

In July 2004, Anderson was appointed coach of the [[Dragons (rugby union)|Newport Gwent Dragons]] – a Welsh [[rugby union]] team for a 2 year deal despite having never previously coached a rugby union team.<ref>{{cite news |author= |agency= |title=Anderson's code switch |url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/rugby-union/andersons-code-switch-20040730-gdycw5.html |quote= |newspaper=[[The Age]] |date=2004-07-30 |access-date=2023-05-08 }}</ref> Despite finishing fourth in the [[Pro14|Celtic League]] that season, his one-year contract was not renewed.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Anderson accepted a two-year contract with the [[Sydney Roosters]] as their first grade coach for the 2007 and 2008 NRL seasons. However, Anderson stepped down from the job late into the 2007 season, after eleven losses from sixteen matches – including a horrific 56-0 loss to [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles]].{{cn|date=May 2023}} He was replaced by former [[Sydney Roosters]] {{rlp|fe}} [[Brad Fittler]].

[[Category:19531952 births]]

[[Category:Australian expatriate sportspeoplerugby league players in England]]