FOOTY IN FAMILY
Anderson siblings hoping to fulfil dream denied to their father
HIS top-flight rugby league career was cut short amid a horror injury run but former Gold Coast Charger Darren Anderson insists he has no regrets.
Now, the 44-year-old is channelling his focus into teenage sons Hayden and Lachlan, who have defied their rugby league roots to carve out promising careers in football.
A Canberra junior, Anderson arrived on the Glitter Strip in 1994 after joining the Gold Coast Seagulls, but their demise the following year sparked a move to Sydney in 1996.
There, the five-eighth or centre played two games with the Tigers before returning to the Coast in 1997 for a ninegame stint with the Chargers.
But with a knee reconstruction and three broken wrists hampering his shot at stardom, Anderson spent the rest of his playing days in the Queensland Cup with Burleigh, earning Queensland Residents selection three years in succession.
Now running his own building business, he has watched Hayden and Lachlan progress through the NPL ranks at Gold Coast City and Gold Coast United, with the pair to enter their fourth state-level campaign in 2019.
Both are members of Queensland development squads, with Hayden to play under-20s with the Gold Coast Knights next season and Lachlan to be part of United’s under-15 outfit.
“I feel proud,” Anderson said. “They did start off (playing league) at Burleigh, just because I did.
“They were both handy league players but in juniors with the big kids and collisions, it’s pretty hard when you’re young.
“As soon as they got into the soccer they shined and went with it. I never made a household name for myself (in rugby league) but they know I loved it and was fairly talented at it. They know my achievements.
“They’re doing good in soccer and I’m really enjoying watching them.”