As seen on warriors.kiwi
The One New Zealand Warriors have rallied around former head coach Daniel Anderson in his recovery from a catastrophic spine injury.
Anderson, who guided the NRL side from 2001 to 2004, was bodysurfing at Soldiers Beach in New South Wales while on vacation with his family in December last year when he went into cardiac arrest after being dumped on his head by a wave.
The 56-year-old was dragged out of the water semi-conscious by two off-duty paramedics who happened to be nearby.
The NRL has today launched the Daniel Anderson Support Fund and announced round 25 will be the ‘Daniel Anderson Round’, with a number of initiatives and public fundraising drives scheduled across that week to support the Anderson family.
One New Zealand Warriors CEO Cameron George is part of a working group, along with several figures from both the Sydney Roosters and Parramatta, who are in talks around how best to action those.
The One New Zealand Warriors have changed their annual Old Boys’ Day to fall on their 25th-round clash against Manly at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart.
Many of the past players expected to be in attendance were coached by Anderson.
“Daniel is a huge part of this club’s history, and the Anderson family a big part of the success of the organisation today,” said George.
“Round 25 will be our big New Zealand fundraiser and further details around those initiatives and how the public can get around it will be confirmed soon.
“We will certainly be playing our part as a club to contribute in supporting Daniel and his family at this time.”
Somewhat unbelievably, Anderson is still working for the Sydney Roosters as head of recruitment, putting in about 10 hours a week from his rehab centre.
An online fundraiser has been set up, where the public can donate to aid in his recovery.
Link here: https://danielandersonfund.com.au/
