Buderus suggests player exchange program
Former Leeds hooker Danny Buderus believes a loan system between Super League and the NRL would help English players better adapt to the game in Australia.
Australia and NSW hooker Buderus had a successful spell with the Rhinos from 2009 to 2011.
He believes a more regular exchange of players between the two countries would advance both the NRL and Super League, and help English backs succeed in the Australian competition.
“I’ve always been keen to start a program for exchanging players so they can have an experience in either hemisphere short-term, even if it’s just for training or development. We have so much to learn from each other,” Buderus told Big League magazine.
“Leeds and international stars like Ryan Hall (wing) and Kallum Watkins (centre) would be great for the program.
“My idea would be to get them out here for a pre-season or on loan for a year in exchange for a couple of our players.
“In England, if you’re training from November in preparation for the season, it’s hard to do quality speed and skill work until the warm weather kicks in.
“At Leeds we went to Florida for 10 days and trained with big smiles and a good dose of Vitamin D.
“To get some backs over here for a bit of experience would improve them as players and people, with a few life lessons along the way.”
Many English forwards have succeeded in the NRL in recent years but few backs.
Buderus said he would love to ask Sam Tomkins what he thought about the style of football in the NRL and what the difference was between the two leagues.
“Obviously, the one thing that was cut short for him was time and space,” he said.
“The emphasis on kicks and kick-chase is a huge part of all game plans in the NRL and it affected his impact.
“But if you paid close attention to Sam, he was around the ball wanting to attack and support which always made him dangerous.
“In the NRL, big English outside backs are on the menu and the production line of forwards will keep coming out to test themselves – especially because a lot of them offer a point of difference that NRL clubs love.”