Vale – Denis Anderson

Parramatta Eels club legend and Life member Denis “Big D” Anderson has passed away, aged 71.

The passionate Men of League Foundation wellbeing recipient had been battling cancer for the last twelve months.

Denis’ involvement in rugby league spans nearly half a century, where he was involved in every level of Parramatta’s footballing program from the Junior Representative teams all the way through to the NRL side.

In many ways, Denis was the embodiment of what makes rugby league great – on countless weekends he was known to have begun some weekends picking up club kits and racing over to a local suburban ground to help set up for the Eels Junior Representative games, before ending that same day clearing out the dressing room after an NRL game late at night.

Denis was named Parramatta Clubman of the Year in 2013, made a Life Member in 2017, and this year saw the creation of the ‘Denis Anderson Junior Club Person of the Year’.

Fittingly, the Eels dressing rooms at the new Bankwest Stadium have also been named the ‘Denis Anderson Rooms’.

His contribution to the Parramatta Eels and to the sport of rugby league was immeasurable.