Danny Buderus (born 6 February 1978) is an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

commentator, coach and former professional footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

representative , he played in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for Australian club, the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

, with whom he won a

Dally M Medal The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the 'Player of the year' over the National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Dal ...

, and the 2001 NRL Premiership before setting a new record for most games with the club. Buderus also played in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

for English club, the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

, with whom he won 2011's

Super League XVI The 2011 Super League season (known as the Engage Super League XVI for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leaders' Shield o ...

. He set the record for most appearances as captain of the

team at 15 and for most consecutive appearances for the side at 21. Buderus also played representative football for the Exiles and New South Wales Country. In 2015, he took up an interim coaching role with the Knights and continued as an assistant coach in 2016.

Background

Buderus was born in Taree, New South Wales, Australia. He played his junior football for Taree Red Rovers and played 1 season for Taree United. In 1995, while attending St Francis Xavier's College, Hamilton, Buderus played for the Australian Schoolboys team. Other players to also come through this well-known rugby league nursery under the tutelage of Mark Wright include

Owen Craigie Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

Jarrod Mullen Jarrod Stephen Mullen (born 9 April 1987) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He last played for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative, he played at and . H ...

Paul Dan Paul "Diddy" Dan (born 1985) is a rugby union player hailing from Newcastle, New South Wales. Career Rising to prominence through St Francis Xavier College under the tutelage of Mark Wright, Dan played first grade for the Hamilton Hawks as a t ...

and

Anthony Tupou Anthony Tupou (born 1 March 1983) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative, he played for the Sydney Roosters, ...

Professional playing career

Newcastle Knights

In Round 3 of the

1997 ARL season The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super Leagu ...

Buderus made his

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives compan ...

début for the

against the

South Queensland Crushers The South Queensland Crushers were an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1992 it was decided that the team would be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League competition, along with three other teams, a ...

. Buderus scored his first try in first-grade in 1998 against the

Auckland Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

in Round 7 of the

1998 NRL season 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. In 2001, Buderus was selected for

Country Origin The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby Leagu ...

in the annual

City vs Country Origin City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydne ...

match. In 2001, Buderus made his international début for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Buderus played in the Knights' 2001 NRL Grand Final win over the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

, the Knights winning 30–24. Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the

2002 World Club Challenge The 2002 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 1 February 2002, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Newcastle Knights. Background Bradford Bulls The 2001 Super League Grand Final ...

against

champions, the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

. Buderus played at , and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in Newcastle's loss. He made his

début for

in 2002. Buderus played his 100th

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

game in Round 14 of the

2002 NRL season The 2002 NRL season was the 95th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fifth to be run by the National Rugby League. The season was affected by the competition-leading Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' salary cap breach fi ...

against the

. In 2002, Buderus was named the

Dally M The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

Hooker of the Year and

Representative Player of the Year at the

Dally M Awards The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the be ...

at the end of the regular season. Buderus played a pivotal role in Newcastle making the semi-finals again in 2003 and ended the season again named Hooker of the Year. In 2004, Buderus was awarded the 2004

for the Player of the Year, only the second to be awarded the medal after

Mal Cochrane Mal Cochrane (born 3 April 1961 in Taree, New South Wales) is an Indigenous Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby Leag ...

as well as the 2004 Hooker of the Year. Buderus was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season

2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams play ...

tournament. In the final against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

he played at hooker in the Kangaroos' 44–4 victory. In 2005 Buderus again won the Hooker of the Year award. On 13 March 2008, Buderus signed a 2-year contract with the

starting in 2009. In August 2008, Buderus was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

despite comments by Kangaroos' coach,

Ricky Stuart Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He ...

, that he would not select players leaving Australia to play in England in 2009. However Buderus wasn't selected to play in a game.

Leeds Rhinos

Buderus commenced playing in the

for English club the

in 2009. He re-signed with the Rhinos on a 2-year contract during 2010. He played in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. In 2011, Buderus played for the Leeds Rhinos in their 2011 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

. On 10 June 2011, Buderus was selected in the Exiles squad for the

Rugby League International Origin Match International Origin was an annual series of rugby league football matches between England RL and the Exiles. The International Origin was created by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to ensure that the English national side had a good strong mid ...

against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

while playing for the

of the

. He also captained the side to a victory. In 2011, Buderus played for Leeds in their

2011 Super League Grand Final The 2011 Super League Grand Final was the 14th official Grand Final and the championship-deciding game of the Super League XVI season. It was held on Saturday, 8 October at Manchester, England's Old Trafford stadium. The match was contested by ...

win over St Helens, with Leeds winning 30–16 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, in which was his final game for the club. After new

coach Wayne Bennett requested Buderus' services, Buderus signed a 1-year contract on 1 October 2011 with the

starting in 2012, returning to the club he had played 220 games for. He had been released from the final year of his

contract to sign with Newcastle.

Return to Newcastle

In 2012, 7 weeks into his return to the

, Buderus was again selected for

at starting , however he withdrew due to injury. Later in the year there was speculation he would be named at for

in Game 1 of the

2012 State of Origin series The 2012 State of Origin series was the 31st time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. For the fourth successive year a Queensland victor ...

but was injured and didn't get picked,

Robbie Farah Robert Peter Farah ( ar, روبي فرح) (born 23 January 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international, Lebanese international and captain of New South Wales Blues te ...

was instead picked and retained his spot for the rest of the series. On 12 June 2012, Buderus re-signed with the Knights on a 1-year contract, 14 rounds into the 2012 season. In September 2013, Buderus announced his retirement at the end of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

. During the Knights vs Roosters Preliminary Final, Buderus entered a tackle and made contact with the elbow of

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (born 20 January 1989) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL) and New Zealand at international level. Waerea-Hargreaves started h ...

, knocking him out. This saw Buderus stretchered from the field, ending his career. However, later scans in hospital cleared the retiring hooker of any serious head or neck injuries.

Accolades

; Dally M Hooker Of The Year 2002, 2004, 2005 ; Dally M Representative Player Of The Year 2002 ; Dally M Player Of The Year 2004 ; RLPA Player of the Year 2004 ;

Brad Fittler Medal State of Origin results and statistics have been accumulating since the 1980 State of Origin game. Every game played under State of Origin selection rules, including the additional 1987 exhibition match and the matches played between New South Wa ...

2009

Coaching career

Buderus stayed with the Knights as an assistant coach for 2014. In July 2015, Buderus was made interim head coach, following the sacking of

Rick Stone Rick Stone (born 14 February 1967) is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He has coached the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, the Sydney Roosters in the NRL ...

. After the 2016 season, he chose to leave his role as an assistant coach. He served as pathways coach in 2017. Buderus is also a selector for the NSW Blues helping select the series winning side along with

Greg Alexander Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander (born 4 March 1965), also known by the nickname of "Brandy" is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, who has since become a radio, television commentator an ...

and former Knights teammate and

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

Andrew Johns Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcas ...

References

Sources

NRL profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
2013 Newcastle Knights profile2001 Ashes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buderus, Danny 1978 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league commentators Australian rugby league players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Exiles rugby league team captains Leeds Rhinos players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights coaches Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Taree