Australian Football

Frank Anderson commenced his senior career at Brunswick in the VFA, where he caught the eye as a lively, powerful and extremely vigorous key position forward. In 1934, the Magpies found themselves in dire financial trouble, and one means they found of alleviating this was to sell some of their better players to clubs in the VFL. Thus, without being involved in any of the preliminary discussions, and indeed with no prior warning, Anderson found himself included in a group of three players off-loaded to Carlton in return for a princely, for the times, three figure sum.

Tried in a variety of positions, he struggled for a time to make his mark with the Blues, although he always managed to do just well enough to retain his place in the side. After being switched to the backlines, however, he really blossomed. He could play with equal effectiveness in almost any defensive position, and was regarded as one of the toughest and hardest to beat defenders in the VFL.

When the Blues beat arch-rivals Collingwood in the1938 grand final, Frank Anderson, lining up on a half back flank, scarcely put a foot wrong to be among the victors' best. He represented the VFL against South Australia in Adelaide in 1941, and would probably have played more interstate football had not the war intervened. Never one to take a backward step, he was reported eight times (but only suspended twice) during the course of a VFL career that saw him play 155 senior games and kick 44 goals between 1934 and 1944. In that time he had the misfortune to finish a narrow runner-up in the club's best and fairest award on three occasions

The final phase of Frank Anderson's playing career took place back in the VFA, this time with Preston, where he served as captain-coach in 1945 and 1946. One imagines that Frank Anderson would have been a strong candidate for inclusion in Carlton's official 'Team of the Century', but for some reason the club's selectors went almost exclusively for players from the post-war era. (Indeed, the only exception to this was the selection of Harry Vallence at full forward.)

Author - John Devaney