Michael Buettner

Michael Buettner

Personal information
Full name	Michael Buettner
Born	30 October 1973 (1973-10-30) (age 38) 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
Source: NRL Stats

Michael Buettner (born 30 October 1973 in Fairfield, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played club football for the North Sydney Bears, the ill fated Northern Eagles, Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers, as well as representative football for New South Wales and for the Australian national side.

Playing career

While attending Westfields Sports High School, Buettner played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1991.^[1]

An Australian Schoolboy representative in 1991 and Parramatta junior, Buettner made his first-grade debut for Parramatta in 1992. Buettner spent four seasons in the back-line at Parramatta before moving to North Sydney as a replacement for centre Ivan Cleary. He was selected for both state and country while playing at Norths and in 1998 he scored a club record 21 tries in a season.

In 2000, Norths and Manly merged to become the Northern Eagles. Buettner stayed for one season but like many former North Sydney players soon left and returned to Parramatta in 2001. Parramatta went all the way to the 2001 Grand final with Buettner at five-eighth but they lost to the Newcastle Knights, 30–24.

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 2004.

Representative career

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.

Post playing career

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

1. ^ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=7-2130-0-0-0&sID=26424. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
2. ^ "Toyota Cup to Kick off in 2008". NRL.com. 2007-04-12. http://www.nrl.com/News/Latest/NewsArticle/tabid/76/NewsId/4537/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2007-07-27. 
3. ^ Dean Ritchie and Christian Nicolussi (2010-06-04). "Johnathan Thurston let-off backfires on NRL". The Daily Telegraph (Australia: Herald and Weekly Times.). http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/johnathan-thurston-let-off-backfires-on-nrl/story-e6frfgbo-1225875234968. 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. pp. 609. ISBN 978-1-877082-93-1. 

External links

• Michael Buettner at NRL Stats
• Michael Buettner at the Rugby League Project

Persondata
Name	Buettner, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 October 1973
Place of birth	Fairfield, New South Wales
Date of death
Place of death