Michael Buettner (born 30 October 1973 in Fairfield, New South Wales) 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 11 ...

official and former professional footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. 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 Ov ...

representative back, he played club football for the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in t ...

, the

Northern Eagles The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Nort ...

, 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 ...

and the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

Playing career

While attending

Westfields Sports High School , motto_translation = Courage and Valour , established = , location = 406A Hamilton Road, Fairfield West, Western Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive ...

, Buettner played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1991. A Parramatta junior, Buettner made his first-grade début for the Eels in round 4 1992, against the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

Aussie Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier recta ...

on 12 April. At the end of that season he won the Eric Grothe award, as the Eels' rookie of the year. Buettner spent four seasons in the back-line at Parramatta before moving to the

as a replacement for Ivan Cleary. In 1996, Buettner was selected to represent Australia at five-eighth in a match against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. He scored two tries. In the 1996 & 1997 seasons, Buettner was part of The Norths side which made consecutive preliminary final appearances but fell short on both occasions. Buettner was selected to represent

as an interchange for game III of the 1997 State of Origin series. In 1998 he scored a North Sydney record 21 tries in a season. In 1999, Buettner played in North Sydney's final ever game as a first grade side which was a 28-18 victory over North Queensland in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

with Buettner scoring a try. In 2000, Norths and

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

merged to become the

. Buettner stayed for one season but, like many former North Sydney players, soon left. For the

2001 NRL season The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership (due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation) it was contested b ...

Buettner returned to the

. He played for Parramatta at in their 2001 NRL grand final loss to 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 ...

alongside former North Sydney teammate Jason Taylor. Buettner left the Eels for the

in 2003 but he only played sixteen games in two seasons and retired at the end of the

2004 NRL season The 2004 NRL season (also known as the 2004 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra) was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed dur ...

Post playing

Formerly the NRL's game liaison manager, Buettner is currently competition manager for the National Youth 20s tournament, the

Holden Cup The NRL Under-20s (known commercially as the Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Australasia. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition c ...

. He also serves on the

NRL Judiciary The NRL Judiciary is the disciplinary judiciary of the National Rugby League (NRL), a rugby league competition. The Judiciary regulates the on-field conduct of players from NRL clubs. Due to changes announced on the eve of the 2022 NRL season, th ...

, where he is the match review committee coordinator. . In November 2018, Buettner played for the

in the Legends of League tournament which was held at the

Central Coast Stadium Central Coast Stadium (known originally as Grahame Park), known commercially as Industree Group Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The stadium is home to the Central Coast Mariners asso ...

in Gosford. The side was captained by

Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan William Hindmarsh (born 7 September 1979) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative second- ...

and made it to the preliminary final before being defeated by The Barbarians. In November 2019, Buettner Played again for the

in the Legends of League Tournament, which was held at

McDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newca ...

in Newcastle. The side was captained by

and won the Tournament, defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs in the final.

Footnotes

References

External links

Michael Buettner at ''NRL Stats''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buettner, Michael 1973 births Living people Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league players Australia national rugby league team players North Sydney Bears players Northern Eagles players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney Wests Tigers players