Former St Helens coach Daniel Anderson rushed to hospital after freak accident

Former St Helens head coach Daniel Anderson has been rushed to hospital after a freak surfing accident on the Central Coast in New South Wales, Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the ex-Parramatta and New Zealand Warriors coach was body surfing at Soldiers Beach near Norah Head while on a family holiday when disaster struck.

It’s believed the 55-year-old was dumped on his neck by a big wave as family members rushed to his aid.

There’s also reports the now Sydney Roosters recruitment boss suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of the traumatic accident.

Anderson was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital and is now in a stable condition. The SMH reports Anderson is on a ventilator and being kept under supervision.

Anderson has been working at the Sydney Roosters since 2019 after a long stint in the game both in Australia and abroad.

The Roosters confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that Anderson was involved in an accident on Friday.

“He received immediate medical attention and was transported to hospital where he remains under the care of doctors,” a Roosters spokesperson said.

“There is no further medical update available at this time.”

The former Parramatta junior worked under Brian Smith back in the 1990s before landing the job as Warriors head coach in 2001.

He took the club to their first finals series that season and their first grand final the following year - where they were beaten by the Roosters.

Anderson headed to St Helens after his resignation in New Zealand, remaining at the helm of the Saints for more than 70 games before returning home to Australia.

He then led Parramatta for three seasons, including to the 2009 grand final - where they were beaten by the Melbourne Storm, before the club’s salary cap controversy while he worked in an off-field role.

Remarkably, the Storm were stripped of that 2009 premiership for their club’s systematic rorting of the salary cap.

Anderson was later approved by the NRL to return to the game with the Sydney Roosters in 2019, with some restrictions, after two years away from the sport.