When Xavier Va’a and Robert Toia were approached by Sydney Roosters Head of Recruitment Daniel Anderson at junior representative carnivals in Queensland, they never expected to end up on the shores of Bondi at a Foundation Club.
Anderson instilled his faith in the young duo and was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure they felt at home in the East.
For Va’a, Anderson’s interest came as a shock to him and his younger brother De La Salle, who grew up in Toowoomba and were identified as emerging stars by the Broncos before the 56-year-old helped table an offer.
“At first, I thought it was cool that a Roosters scout wanted to talk to me,” Va’a explained.
But when my parents told me who he was and the teams he coached and the players he developed, I remember thinking this guy is the main deal.
“In a way he’s one of the Godfathers of rugby league, he helped revolutionise the sport.”
Face to Face | Daniel Anderson
Anderson has stuck by Va’a and his brother ever since they put pen to paper, attending almost every game from Harold Matthews to NSW Cup, even after suffering a life-changing spinal cord injury.
“He’s kind of like our second dad to be honest,” he laughed.
“He’s very strict, very upfront and honest, he says how it goes, he doesn’t sugar-coat anything, you can tell he is really passionate about what he does.
“He tells us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear. If he played poor, he would let us know about it.
“But if we played good, he would tell us ‘good work, you did your job’ and give us feedback on what we can improve on.”
After the powerhouse prop finished school, Anderson invited him to live in his house for a fortnight, so he could maximise the time spent with the NRL team during pre-season.
“His family is awesome, they treated me like I’m one of their own, they made me feel really comfortable and looked after me to make sure my stay was the best it could’ve been,” Va’a said.
“After those two weeks the Club seemed impressed with what they had seen, then I went back to playing SG Ball for the junior reps season.
“But after SG Ball I was brought back in to train with NRL full-time, which was last year.
“Ever since he helped me move down here, it’s been pretty crazy.”
Anderson unwavering dedication to nurturing the next generation of NRL talent extends to Toia, who was swooped on at Metropolitan North trials at the age of 15.
“Every time I’d come down to Sydney, Ando would always pick me up,” he said.
“He’d take me to my trainings, take me to the games, take me to watch NRL train, he would take me anywhere I needed to be. He opened his house to me too.”
The skilful centre has also been the recipient of hard-hitting feedback, but recalls the softer side of Anderson he experienced last year after sustaining a season-ending injury.
“He’s usually someone who is really straight forward, he doesn’t really have a filter, he keeps it 100 but he’s a jokester. The best way I can describe him is like an uncle,” he said.
“He rang me the day I did my ACL and said he was feeling for me, he told me he was sorry to hear what happened and told me to keep my head up.
“He told me he is always there for me and if I need to chat, he’s a call away.”
Toia believes his life would look very different if the well-loved Club figure hadn’t scouted him a couple of years ago, explaining that much of his success can be attributed to Anderson’s investment in him as a player.
“Where I’m at now, it definitely wouldn’t be possible without him, because he was always vouching for me,” he said.
“Everything he has done for me has got me to where I am now.”
This week, the NRL, alongside all 17 NRL Clubs will unite for Daniel Anderson across the NRL in Round 25 and the NRLW in Round 5.
The Roosters are offering an exclusive match day experience, a corporate box, as well as match-worn and signed jerseys from Isabelle Kelly and James Tedesco in the Unite for Daniel auction – with funds raised going towards the Head of Recruitment in his recovery.
Place your bids to secure these unique items now! Further donations to the Daniel Anderson Fund can be made here.
