Lachie Anderson has secured his future beyond the Tokyo Olympics with the Sevens star locked into Super Rugby with the Melbourne Rebels.
Anderson has signed a contract extension until the end of 2023 and will represent Australia at the Olympics in late July before returning to the 15-a-side game with Melbourne.
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"Your dream growing up is always that you want to play Super Rugby and eventually go on and play for your country and I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity through Sevens," Anderson told AAP.
"But after that Super Rugby was always something I wanted to challenge myself in to see if I had what it takes in the 15 side of things and I'm stoked to get the opportunity in Melbourne."
His good news has been tempered by a diagnosis of syndesmosis which see him miss Saturday night's Super Rugby AU clash with unbeaten Queensland at AAMI Park, and likely sideline him for the next five weeks.
Playing one Rebels game last year after joining the club when the World Sevens series was abandoned due to COVID-19, Anderson has made a big impact this season, starting in every match.
Scoring a try in his past two outings, his injury is a blow for Melbourne although they've named two other Sevens players, Jeral Skelton and Lewis Holland, to make their debut off the bench
"It's frustrating when you get an injury that puts you out for a lengthy period of time but we play a contact sport so it comes with the territory," Anderson said.
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"Every week I was feeling more comfortable and each week as a team we're getting better and better and I think we're building some nice momentum especially coming into some home games at AAMI Park."
A familiar figure around the home ground is Melbourne Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen, who Anderson captained in their first XV rugby team at their Sydney school.
"We were undefeated in those last two years which was good," Anderson said.
"It's good to see Paps doing as well as he's doing - he's absolutely killing it at the moment."
The Rebels will look to keep their finals hopes alive when they take on the Reds at AAMI Park on Saturday 3 April, kicking off at 7.45pm AEDT, LIVE on Stan Sports and simulcast on 9Gem,click here to purchase tickets.
