Anderson played as a
full-forward in the
Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) from 1950 to 1954. He played four seasons with the
University Blues, followed by a season with the
Old Melburnians. He was noted for his prolific goalkicking and was the leading goalkicker in Section A in every season he played in, the only player to have done so. He was the vice-captain of the club during the 1952 season, where the Blues went on win their first Premiership title, defeating
Ormond in the Grand Final, with Anderson scoring ten of the twenty goals that Blues put past Ormond. He took on a dual role in the 1953 season, acting as both captain and coach of the club, as the Blues finished as runners-up. Anderson also represented
Victoria as an amateur in eight matches, including at the 1951 and 1953 AAFC Carnivals. In August 1954, Anderson left Australia to study in the United Kingdom, attending
Magdalen College, Oxford. In December, he was named Blue of the Game in the annual Australian rules match between Oxford and Cambridge, where he played alongside future
Prime Minister Bob Hawke. His best bowling of 4/68 came against
Yorkshire. Despite having not played competitive football for two years, Anderson appeared in a
demonstration match at the
1956 Summer Olympics. He was selected to play in a team representing the Victorian Amateur Football Association against a combined team of players from the
Victorian Football League (VFL) and the
Victorian Football Association (VFA). Although the combined VFL/VFA team were favoured to win the match, some football journalists backed the VAFA team, citing Anderson's performances at both team training and in a "special" practice match as reasons for a potential upset. On 7 December, the VAFA team were victorious, defeating the combined team by 26 points. Anderson finished the match with three goals. == Death ==