Club legend Stephen Anderson will play his 300th VAFA game for the Rovers on Saturday with the three-time premiership player running out for the Reserves against Banyule at Boss James Reserve.
It’s an outstanding milestone for an outstanding player and individual.
Steve commenced playing junior football for the Hampton Rovers in 1982, in the Under 10s. He continued right through to Under 17s and club stalwart Don Scarlett commented that even at junior level, you could see he knew how he read the game, in the famous words of AFL legend Jack Dyer “he was always where the ball was as”.
He always played with great determination and skill making the ball the object. When he went up into the U19s, his on-field leadership qualities started to show. Steve played in the Seniors at a very young age and made an immediate impact on the playing field.
Steve has been captain of our senior side, has won Best and Fairest awards in the Juniors and Seniors over a long fruitful career, represented the Big V and he’s one of a select few Hampton Rovers players who has played in three winning senior grand final sides over the past 19 seasons.
His dedication to the club hasn’t been restricted to on-field with Steve having contributed many outstanding off-field duties over the years.
When asked of his highlights over his career, Steve’s number one was his three senior flags (1995, 1998, 2001) in which he was vice captain for one and skipper for another.
Another highlight was watching a few boys he played with no wins in 2012 go on and win the premiership last year, especially the skipper Leigh Fletcher. And then there was Charlie’s first game in the seniors with that being the first time the two brothers had played together.
With 146 junior games and 299 senior games, another milestone will be reached in the near future with the magical 450 club games.
Get along to Boss James Reserve early on Saturday at around 11:30am to cheer Ando onto the field as the boys take on Banyule in a must-win game. Also out there will be two players who recently played their 250th VAFA/club games – Adam Power and Lachlan Wheeler.
More will be spoken about Steve’s career at the pre-game President’s Luncheon – click here to book.
Congratulations on 300 VAFA games Steve, you are a credit to our great club.
