Michael Buettner
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 30 October 1973 Fairfield, New South Wales, Australia | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | |||||
| Weight | 93 kg (14 st 9 lb) | |||||
| Position | Centre, Five-eighth | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1992–95 | Parramatta Eels | 79 | 17 | 73 | 0 | 214 |
| 1996–99 | North Sydney Bears | 95 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 236 |
| 2000 | Northern Eagles | 23 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 32 |
| 2001–02 | Parramatta Eels | 50 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 2003–04 | Wests Tigers | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 263 | 96 | 77 | 0 | 538 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1996 | Australia | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1997 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | City Origin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Source: NRL Stats | ||||||
Michael Buettner (born 30 October 1973 in Fairfield, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative back, he played club football for the North Sydney Bears, the ill-fated Northern Eagles, Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers.
Playing career
While attending Westfields Sports High School, Buettner played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1991.[1] A Parramatta junior, Buettner made his first-grade début for the Eels in 1992.
Buettner spent four seasons in the back-line at Parramatta before moving to the North Sydney Bears as a replacement for centre Ivan Cleary. In 1996, Buettner was selected to represent Australia at five-eighth in a match against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. He scored two tries.
Buettner was selected to represent New South Wales 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 2000, Norths and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles merged to become the Northern Eagles. Buettner stayed for one season but like many former North Sydney players soon left.
For the 2001 NRL season Buettner returned to the Parramatta Eels. He played for Parramatta at five-eighth in their 2001 NRL grand final loss to the Newcastle Knights. Buettner left the Eels for the Wests Tigers in 2003 but he only played sixteen games in two seasons and retired at the end of the 2004 NRL season.
Post playing
Formerly the NRL's Game Liaison manager, Buettner is currently competition manager for the National Youth 20s tournament, the Toyota Cup.[2] He also serves on the NRL's judiciary.[3]
Career highlights
- First Grade Debut: 1992 - Round 4, Parramatta vs Sydney Roosters at Aussie Stadium, 12 April
- Awards: Eric Grothe Rookie of the Year Award, Parramatta Eels, 1992
Footnotes
- ↑ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ↑ "Toyota Cup to Kick off in 2008". NRL.com. 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ↑ Dean Ritchie and Christian Nicolussi (2010-06-04). "Johnathan Thurston let-off backfires on NRL". The Daily Telegraph (Australia: Herald and Weekly Times.). Retrieved 2010-06-03.
References
- Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Wetherill Park, New South Wales: Gary Allen Pty Ltd. p. 609. ISBN 978-1-877082-93-1.