“Beast from the east”: The gun midfielder with a cult following who is dominating for Eastern Ranges
There is a budding young gun running around in the Coates Talent League who has been dubbed ‘The Beast from the East’.
His name is Cody Anderson and he been in red-hot form for the Eastern Ranges over the lat few weeks.
The 181cm midfielder was colossal in last weekend’s 19-point loss to the Sandringham Dragons, finishing with 28 disposals, nine tackles, eight inside 50s and two goals.
It was the way he went about it which really impressed Bravo Talent Management’s James Pitcher the most.
“The ‘beast from the east’, Cody Anderson, was dominant,” Pitcher said on SEN’s Future Stars.
“He was in and under, in everyone’s face, he kicked a massive goal in the last quarter to almost bring them back into it and he gave the double python to the crowd.
“He was unbelievable, he had 28 touches and two goals.
“He’s got a bit of a cult following, I reckon he gets a few mates that come down to every game.
“He’s an inside mid, he’s 181cm, he’s got a really strong build on him, loves the competitive stuff.”
As a bottom-ager in 2022, Anderson played seven games and averaged 16 touches in the Victorian Under-18 competition, before progressing to 13 matches and 18.8 disposals for Ranges last year.
Those numbers indicate that the Healesville product could be headed towards the 2024 AFL Draft.
“As a 16-year-old he played seven games for the Ranges, which is a massive effort at that age. I think that speaks a lot about his body,” Pitcher added.
“13 games last year and he’s been dominant with 28 and 22 touches in the last two weeks.
“The biggest thing for him will be how he covers the ground. Clearly one on one he’s hard to beat, but it’s seeing what he can do at the next level as well.”
After a quieter start to the season when he had 13 touches against the Oakleigh Chargers in Round 1, Anderson has put together two dominant performances which includes 22 touches, six inside 50s and five tackles in Round 2 against the Northern Knights.
He has been named in the Vic Metro trial squad to play Vic Country at Avalon Airport Oval in Werribee on Sunday.
Cody Anderson - 'The beast from the east' - was DOMINANT for the Eastern Ranges in the @TalentLeague last weekend.#GenNext | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/xX1HO0S0sv
— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) April 11, 2024
His Ranges teammate, Christian Moraes, has also been in hot form in the first three rounds of the Coates Talent League campaign.
He has returned nine goals and is averaging 26 disposals as an attacking 183cm wingman.
“Christian Moraes just hits the scoreboard every week,” Pitcher said.
“He’s a wingman who gets up and back, up and back, but when he gets forward he’s dangerous. He had 21 and kicked three (against the Dragons)
“I think the recruiters would have walked away from that game very impressed.”
