Ever since he started playing rugby league in under 6s, Bailey Anderson has earned himself a reputation as a “tackling machine”.
Now the 16-year-old Mackay boy is looking to build the reputation of his rugby league prowess even further, after he signed a three-year contract with the Melbourne Storm.
Bailey Anderson celebrating his three-year Melbourne Storm contract with Souths Junior Sharks Mackay under 16s coach, Ray Seymour. Photo: Souths Junior Sharks Mackay Facebook
Bailey Anderson celebrating his three-year Melbourne Storm contract with Souths Junior Sharks Mackay under 16s coach, Ray Seymour. Photo: Souths Junior Sharks Mackay Facebook
Currently playing for the Souths Junior Sharks, Bailey was approached by former Queensland Maroons forward and Storm recruitment officer and pathways manager, Tim Glasby, after a successful season with the Mackay Cutters Cyril Connell side.
His mum, Simone Anderson, said Bailey has never been one to make representative sides and while he did have stints with the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys academies, no further opportunities arose.
The approach from Melbourne came out of the blue but was a welcome surprise for the young winger and his family.
“It came out of nowhere,” she said.
“Tim phoned Bailey and asked if he had a manager, which we thought was quite funny. He said, ‘no, but you can talk to my mum’.
“We had a chat and he said he’d been watching a lot of footage of Bailey and recognised he was a hard worker. Nobody had actually put his name forward, which is a real credit to Bailey.
“He said he wanted to see him and invited us to the Sunshine Coast around mid-May. That was just after the (NRL) Magic Round and before the Storm players were heading for Townsville.
“The session had to be called off because the grounds were too wet but they all came over and introduced themselves. We met Craig Bellamy and the coaching staff. It was unbelievable.
“But because it was cancelled, we assumed he hadn’t had a run, they didn’t get to see him, and we’d just put it down as a great trip.
“But Tim said they’d seen enough already and wanted to offer him a contract.”
Anderson said her son was speechless and still didn’t believe the offer was true until he signed on the dotted line, with his under 16s Souths Junior Sharks coach Ray Seymour in attendance.
With Bailey in grade 11, he will remain in Mackay for the next two years, working with the Storm on his nutrition plan, weights program, videos and more, plus attend camps throughout the season.
At the end of year 12, Bailey hopes he will get to go straight to Melbourne to train with the team in pre-season.
Anderson said her son started out like most kids, wanting to play the game to be around his mates, but now he’s chasing a massive life dream.
“He was always a hard worker,” she said.
“He gets his game face on and that’s all, he’s focused. As he got older, even as his mum, I kind of was a bit shocked that he’s quite fast. All those different skills started to come out as he developed over the years.
“Obviously I’m super proud. He’s worked really hard. Bailey’s very humble. He still sort of pinches himself but he’s very driven. He just wants to make sure he deserves it.”
See:
https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2022/06/08/ ... etermined/