Problem accessing returned values from function

[Nebulocity]

I know why this isn't returning anything, but I'm not quite sure how to go about changing it. 

apple= spawnApple('appleSprite');apple.anchor.setTo(0.5, 0.5);function spawnApple(sprite) {    // Place apple in center of canvas    apple= game.add.sprite(game.world.centerX, game.world.centerY, sprite);}alert(apple.anchor);

The above returns an error in the console:
 

Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'anchor' of undefined

So I tried fixing by creating a function inside the function, but this doesn't work either:

 

apple= spawnApple('appleSprite');apple.anchor.setTo(0.5, 0.5);function spawnApple(sprite) {    // Place applein center of canvas    apple= game.add.sprite(game.world.centerX, game.world.centerY, sprite);    apple.anchor = function() {        apple.anchor.setTo(0.5, 0.5);    }}alert(apple.anchor);

But this doesn't solve anything either.  Could anyone help me in understanding how to assign properties to objects, so that those  properties are accessible outside of the object's creating function?

[ragnarok]

Try:

 

function spawnApple(sprite) {    var apple;    // Place applein center of canvas    apple= game.add.sprite(game.world.centerX, game.world.centerY, sprite);    return apple;}