Christopher "Opes" Anderson (born 2 May 1952) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1990s and 2000s. An

Australian Kangaroos The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian ...

and New South Wales Blues representative winger, he featured in

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

's third grand final win and captained Halifax ( Heritage № 941) to both League and Cup success. As a coach, Anderson took Australia to

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

victory and coached both Canterbury-Bankstown and

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

to premiership wins. He is also a member of the Halifax Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Anderson was a who was recruited by Peter Moore from

Forbes, New South Wales Forbes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the Newell Highway between Parkes and West Wyalong. At the , Forbes had a population of 9,319. Forbes is probably named after Sir Francis Forbes, first ...

, where he attended

Red Bend Catholic College , motto_translation = Through Difficulty to Greatness , established = , schooltype = Independent co-educational secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Roman Catholic , religious_affiliation = Association of Marist Schools o ...

. As a flankman for the Bulldogs, Anderson gave the club a vital tryscoring power which had been quite absent from Belmore throughout the 1950s and 1960s.Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season summary
/ref> In 1974, when the Bulldogs reached the Grand Final, Anderson broke Morrie Murphy's 1947 record of sixteen tries for the club. He also played in England for Widnes. Anderson played left wing in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

' 2–3 defeat by

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

in the 1974–75 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

on Saturday 25 January 1975. Also during the

1974–75 Northern Rugby Football League season The 1974–75 Rugby Football League season was the 80th season of competition between the clubs of England's Northern Rugby Football League. The season's First Division Championship featured 16 clubs and was won by St. Helens. The Challenge Cup ...

he was flown to England to play on the wing for

in their 14–7 victory over

in the 1975 Challenge Cup Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 10 May 1975. Anderson surpassed

Eddie Burns Eddie Burns (16 January 1916 – 30 June 2004) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach of the mid 20th century. A New South Wales representative prop-forward, he played for the Canterbury-Bankstown club of the NSWRFL Premiership, l ...

' club record for Canterbury-Bankstown of 65 tries in 1978. Anderson represented Australia in eight tests, including the 1975 World Cup and two Kangaroos Tours in 1978 and 1982. He also represented

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the experimental

1980 State of Origin game The 1980 State of Origin game was the first game between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues rugby league teams to be played under "state of origin" selection rules. It was the third match of 1980's annual interstate series betwee ...

. In the third Origin encounter of 1983 (his last representative match), Anderson became the first ever player to score a hat-trick of tries in a

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

match, although the Blues lost 22–43. That season Anderson scored nineteen tries for the Bulldogs, a club record until

Nigel Vagana Nigel Faletoese Vagana (born 7 February 1975), also known by the nicknames of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a and . A New Zealand and Samoa international represen ...

scored twenty-three in 2002. After struggling with a broken arm during 1984, and being dropped to reserve grade for the latter part of the NSWRL season, Anderson became captain-

of Halifax between late 1984 and May 1988 where he enjoyed great success, including winning the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

during the 1985–86 season, and played in the 19-18 victory over St. Helens in the

1987 Challenge Cup File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Final during the 1986–87 season at

on Saturday 2 May 1987. He played stand-off in almost all his games for Halifax.

Coaching career

Anderson is one of the few people to play and coach competition winning sides in both Australia and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He is also one of the few people to coach two different clubs to NRL/

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

Premiership success. Anderson returned to Australia after playing/coaching in the British 1987–88 season and was appointed coach of the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

Under 21s team for the 1989 season. Anderson was quickly appointed as Canterbury's first grade coach for

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

and enjoyed eight fruitful seasons at Canterbury, including the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Premiership triumph over the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

. The formation of the

saw Anderson become their first coach. His son,

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

, played 17 games for Melbourne. Anderson was appointed coach of the Australian national team in March 1999, replacing Wayne Bennett. Then he guided the Storm to Premiership success when they defeated the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the

1999 NRL Grand Final The 1999 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1999 NRL season. It was contested by the competition's two newest clubs: the Melbourne Storm, competing in only its second year (having finished the regular season ...

. Anderson was coach of the Australian team to compete in the end of season

1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup (the 19 ...

tournament. In the final against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

the Kangaroos won 22–20. After seven rounds (and only two wins) of the

2001 NRL season The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership (due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation) it was contested b ...

Anderson quit as

coach. On the 2001 Kangaroo Tour, when coaching Australia, Anderson, was taken to a

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

hospital after complaining of chest pains during the first half of the deciding third test match against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

at the

JJB Stadium The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned ...

. He had suffered a non-fatal

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

but made a full recovery. Anderson was appointed coach of the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

for two controversial seasons in 2002 and 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 ,

Preston Campbell Preston Campbell, (born 7 June 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Gold Coast Titans of the National Rugby League. A New South Wales Country and Indigenous Dreamtime team representative or , h ...

with new signing

Brett Kimmorley Brett "Noddy" Kimmorley (born 15 September 1976) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s and is the current interim coach of the Wests Tigers. A New South Wales int ...

in the starting side. He also continually picked his son, Jarrad, at the expense of Matt King, who ended up moving to the

where his career blossomed. At the end of the

2003 NRL season The 2003 NRL premiership was the 96th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the sixth run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen teams competed, with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles returning in place of their failed join ...

, he went on the

2003 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France The 2003 Kangaroo Tour was a six-match tour by the Australia national rugby league team of France, Wales and England, and to date has been the last Kangaroo Tour. The last three matches were all Tests against Great Britain national rugby league te ...

, coaching Australia to victory over

in what would be the last time the two nations contested an

Ashes series The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

. After five successful seasons Anderson's tenure as coach of Australia came to a halt following the successful 2003 whitewash of

. In July 2004 Anderson was appointed coach of the Newport Gwent Dragons – a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team. Despite finishing fourth in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

that season, his one-year contract was not renewed. Anderson accepted a two-year contract with the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

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 just five wins from sixteen matches – including a horrific 56-0 loss to

. He was replaced by former

Brad Fittler Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, a commentator and a television presenter. Fittler has previously coached the Sydney Roosters i ...

Recognition

Anderson is a Halifax Hall of Fame Inductee and was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

on 24 October 2000 for his contribution to Australian rugby league.

References

External links

Player Details at stateoforigin.com.auBulldogs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Chris 1953 births Living people Australia national rugby league team coaches Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coaches Dragons RFC coaches Halifax R.L.F.C. captains Halifax R.L.F.C. coaches Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Melbourne Storm coaches New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Rugby league wingers Sydney Roosters coaches Widnes Vikings players