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Joe Anderson's gutsy game-saving mark is Mike and Dan's Play of the Week
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Joe Anderson was drafted out of Darwin in 2006, we were told he would be a self-less, team oriented player, and that there’d be no “I” in Joe Anderson. On Saturday night against a Brisbane Lions team desperate for a win to keep their finals hopes alive, Joe paid back that reputation and won not only Mike and Dan’s Play of the Week but more footy street cred than some players get in a career. Dying seconds of the game? Jonathan Brown about to Poleaxe me? Why not? All in the cause of a Carlton win for Joe.

Did you realise it was Jonathon Brown's lead you were interrupting, and if so were you wondering if your life insurance was up to date?

*laughs* Yeah I thought it might be going to him because it was the end of the game and he’s their match-winner. I saw Sherman looking for a pass and as he kicked it I thought “why not?”, if I get hurt I get hurt. Like they say, pain is temporary but victory is forever and we really wanted that win.

Did you realise how much time was left in the game when you took that mark?

Not really, I thought there would be a couple of minutes left because there were a lot of goals kicked in that quarter. I was just going back to take the kick when the siren went so it was pretty exciting.

When did you find out you'd be in for Jamo or Browne?

Thursday night. The boys were flying out Friday and the Match Committee let me know to get my boots ready and that I would be in the team. My brother and cousin live in Queensland so I had enough time to let them know and they came down for the game, which was great.

The year you got drafted you played with Daryl White in Darwin. What did it mean for your career to play with a triple premiership player at that time, and how did that final year at Darwin shape you as a footballer?

Daryl was a great leader, and his experience on the field and off the field was really important that season and we won the premiership that year. He didn’t say a lot as a leader, but I worked hard to play with a guy like Daryl. When I got drafted he told me just to grab hold of the opportunity and that’s what I’ve tried to do!

You live with Eddie Betts, who has previously told us that you are a bit of a pest around the house. Is there anything that you would like to say about Eddie?

*laughs* Did he? Oh right, well what can I say about Eddie? Well actually I don’t have any real dirt on him. He’s a pretty clean type of guy and a good housemate to be honest. He was great to me when I first arrived and helped me through training and took us out to dinner and around town. He really showed me the ropes of the club and living in Melbourne.

….Ok, maybe his cooking could use some work. Everything he knows about cooking has come from Benji (Clint Benjamin) and me so he could put a bit more effort into that as a housemate!

Did you move in with Eddie when you first moved here or were you billeted to a nice Carlton family?

I moved in with Eddie in the November of my first year, and before then I lived with a great couple named Paul and Carolyn, who helped me with everything like the cooking and washing… it was a good lifestyle! I’m really thankful to them for helping me settle into Melbourne after coming from Darwin, and Eddie was a great help to me as well.

Did you & the team watch or discuss the Olympics much? Anyone in particular provide inspiration?

Yeah we watched quite a bit actually. At our house we taped the 100m final and watched it over and over again. We’re still watching it! We were big fans of Usain Bolt before the Olympics and were really keen to see how he would go, and yeah, he proved he was number 1 in the best way possible.

Is there anyone at the club that has a bit of Usain Bolt in them?

I would have to say Eddie because he loves his goal celebrations, and sometimes before they go through. I’ll have to talk to him about getting a pair of gold boots for next year!

Other than Usain Bolt, who were your idols growing up?

Andrew McLeod was my favourite footballer as a kid. He was a Territory boy and played for my club and I really liked the way he went about it. I also really admired Ricky Ponting, but the strange thing is I never really wanted to play cricket. I just liked the professionalism of Ponting in everything he does.

If you make it in to the squad for this week, it could be a game for milestones what with Buddy's 100th on the horizon, and Fev an outside chance of his ton. Has there been any discussion about it?

Nah not really, we haven’t said much as a group but I reckon Fev will get the 100, and we’ll be trying to help him, but we’re obviously also going for the win. Fev getting 100 in a Carlton win would be amazing.

As for Buddy, I reckon Waite or Bower will get Franklin and if they do he might struggle to be honest! My tip is for a Fev and Carlton double win, and Buddy will have to get his ton in the finals.

Coming up to your third season, what are your personal goals for 2009?

Well, I can promise you it will be a huge preseason for everyone, so my first personal goals are to beat all my PB times on the track and also my weights records to put up the best case for games next season. After that I’ll be aiming at 12 – 15 games next year, so I’ll be having a huge preseason to be able to do that. In terms of positions or roles, I played a lot of my junior footy up forward but it is pretty crowded up there at the moment so I’ll be working on consolidating a role in the backline, on half-back-flank.

Well, if his efforts against Brisbane are any indication, Joe won’t only be beating his personal bests, he’ll be smashing them! Mike and Dan just wonder if we’ll see any Bolt-celebrations as Joe completes his circuits of Princes Park.