EFL 2018: South Croydon unsure if Frank Anderson will return before Eastern Football League finals
SOUTH Croydon’s latest win in the Eastern Football League has been soured by the news star midfielder Frank Anderson may miss the rest of the season.
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SOUTH Croydon star midfielder Frank Anderson could be in a race against the clock to be fit for Eastern Football League finals as he recovers from the early onset of a stress fracture in his foot.
Anderson watched from the sidelines at Cheong Park on Saturday with his left foot in a moon boot as the Bulldogs scored a come-from-behind 20-point win over Blackburn.
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South Croydon remains unsure on when Anderson will return, with coach Luke McCormick conceding the AFL draft chance may not be seen again this year.
“Very disappointing to have him out, it’s more management than anything, we’ve got to look after him so we’re pretty optimistic that he’ll be OK but we don’t know how long it’s going to be, it could be two, three, four, five (weeks),” McCormick said.
“He felt that it had been building for a bit, he’s done a hell of a lot of work all year, he’s an elite athlete basically, which is funny to say for local footy, but he is.”
McCormick said Anderson could “conceivably” miss the rest of the year as South Croydon prepares for a tilt at back-to-back premierships.
“They think it’s more to be managed so it’s one of those things, they don’t really know yet,” he said.
“We genuinely don’t know, we’re optimistic, we’re really optimistic that he won’t (miss the rest of the year) but there is every chance.”
The 21-year-old’s form this year has seen him enter draft calculations, with AFL clubs showing interest in the Bulldogs junior.
“He’s got aspirations so we’ve got to look after him and I’m happy to do that for him because it is about him and the person that he is at the end of the day, but we also want him to play finals for us,” McCormick said.
“We’ve heard of a few (AFL) clubs now but clubs have got recruiting guys that talk to thousands of blokes every year.
“He’s playing that sort of footy that could play, I think, at the next level, it’s up to them (clubs).”
South Croydon kicked eight of the last 10 goals to move to a 12-3 record on the Division 1 ladder after a 13.11 (89) to 10.9 (69) win, leaving Blackburn with a crunch game against Balwyn this weekend.
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