Newcastle Knights In Round 3 of the
1997 ARL season Buderus made his
ARL début for the
Newcastle Knights against the
South Queensland Crushers. Buderus scored his first try in first-grade in 1998 against the
Auckland Warriors in Round 7 of the
1998 NRL season. In 2001, Buderus was selected for
Country Origin in the annual
City vs Country Origin match. In 2001, Buderus made his international début for
Australia against
New Zealand. Buderus played in the Knights'
2001 NRL Grand Final win over the
Parramatta Eels, the Knights winning 30–24. Having won the
2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights travelled to England to play the
2002 World Club Challenge against
Super League champions, the
Bradford Bulls. Buderus played at , and scored a
try in Newcastle's loss. He made his
State of Origin début for
New South Wales in 2002. Buderus played his 100th
NRL game in Round 14 of the
2002 NRL season against the
Parramatta Eels. In 2002, Buderus was named the
Dally M Hooker of the Year and
Dally M Representative Player of the Year at the
Dally M Awards 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
Dally M Medal for the Player of the Year, only the second to be awarded the medal after
Mal Cochrane 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 tournament. In the final against
Great Britain 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
Leeds Rhinos starting in 2009. In August 2008, Buderus was named in the
preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the
2008 Rugby League World Cup despite comments by Kangaroos' coach,
Ricky Stuart, 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
Super League for English club the
Leeds Rhinos 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 at
Wembley Stadium. In 2011, Buderus played for the Leeds Rhinos in their
2011 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the
Wigan Warriors at
Wembley Stadium. On 10 June 2011, Buderus was selected in the
Exiles squad for the
International Origin match against
England at
Headingley while playing for the
Leeds Rhinos of the
Super League. He also captained the side to a victory. In 2011, Buderus played for Leeds in their
2011 Super League Grand Final win over
St Helens, with Leeds winning 30–16 at
Old Trafford, in which was his final game for the club. After new
Newcastle Knights coach
Wayne Bennett requested Buderus' services, Buderus signed a 1-year contract on 1 October 2011 with the
Newcastle Knights starting in 2012, returning to the club he had played 220 games for. He had been released from the final year of his
Leeds Rhinos contract to sign with Newcastle.
Return to Newcastle In 2012, 7 weeks into his return to the
National Rugby League, Buderus was again selected for
Country Origin at starting , however he withdrew due to injury. Later in the year there was speculation he would be named at for
New South Wales in Game 1 of the
2012 State of Origin series but was injured and didn't get picked,
Robbie Farah 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. During the Knights vs Roosters Preliminary Final, Buderus entered a tackle and made contact with the elbow of
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 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 ==