Danny doubles up on Buns
30 Apr 2006
If there was ever any doubt that Newcastle Knights hooker Danny Buderus was going to be named in the Australian side then it was put to bed at Telstra Stadium as he scored two tries and led the way in the Knights' 24-16 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Newcastle survived a desperate fight back from the Rabbitohs, who did their best to push the game into golden point extra time.
Having been 12 points down in the early stages of the second half after Buderus scored his first try, the Rabbitohs hit back through David Fa'alogo and Adam MacDougall, whose try Nathan Merritt converted from the try line to lock the scores at 18-all with eight minutes to go.
But Rabbitohs couldn't find the set they needed on the back of the try and just when the Knights looked like they were setting for a field goal Buderus caught Souths off guard to score the match-winning try.
Buderus, however, may find his name on the match review committee's report on Monday as he was part of a potential dangerous throw tackle in the first half.
Fortune hasn't favoured the Rabbitohs this season with injuries, referee decisions and the bounce of the ball rarely going their way – for more than 40 minutes at a time anyway.
That may have changed had Andrew Johns opted to sit out one more match with his ankle injury ahead of next Friday's Test against New Zealand.
But instead Johns was named and so the Rabbitohs could have been forgiven for shrinking a little at the news.
Instead the Rabbitohs stepped up a notch, wishing no doubt to quickly wipe away last week's loss to the Warriors, which was their worst performance of the season.
It was second rower Joe Galuvao, in a timely reminder for New Zealand selectors how strong a runner he can be, who scored the early and unexpected four-pointer for South Sydney. In a topsy-turvy weekend thoughts of an upset immediately sprang to mind.
But then fortune took a long right-hand turn away from the Rabbitohs as Johns began to make his mark while two pivotal decisions went against them.
By the 25-minute mark the Knights were in front via tries to fullback Milton Thaiday and centre George Carmont.
Play was stopped after Carmont's try as South Sydney halfback Ben Walker strongly protested a stripping penalty decision by referee Jason Robinson that led to the try but, despite the validity of the argument, it only ended in a warning for Walker.
The Rabbitohs almost drew level just prior to the halftime break but the video referee determined that Nathan Merritt had knocked on rather than kneed on – as the Rabbitohs fullback had been hoping.
30 Apr 2006
If there was ever any doubt that Newcastle Knights hooker Danny Buderus was going to be named in the Australian side then it was put to bed at Telstra Stadium as he scored two tries and led the way in the Knights' 24-16 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Newcastle survived a desperate fight back from the Rabbitohs, who did their best to push the game into golden point extra time.
Having been 12 points down in the early stages of the second half after Buderus scored his first try, the Rabbitohs hit back through David Fa'alogo and Adam MacDougall, whose try Nathan Merritt converted from the try line to lock the scores at 18-all with eight minutes to go.
But Rabbitohs couldn't find the set they needed on the back of the try and just when the Knights looked like they were setting for a field goal Buderus caught Souths off guard to score the match-winning try.
Buderus, however, may find his name on the match review committee's report on Monday as he was part of a potential dangerous throw tackle in the first half.
Fortune hasn't favoured the Rabbitohs this season with injuries, referee decisions and the bounce of the ball rarely going their way – for more than 40 minutes at a time anyway.
That may have changed had Andrew Johns opted to sit out one more match with his ankle injury ahead of next Friday's Test against New Zealand.
But instead Johns was named and so the Rabbitohs could have been forgiven for shrinking a little at the news.
Instead the Rabbitohs stepped up a notch, wishing no doubt to quickly wipe away last week's loss to the Warriors, which was their worst performance of the season.
It was second rower Joe Galuvao, in a timely reminder for New Zealand selectors how strong a runner he can be, who scored the early and unexpected four-pointer for South Sydney. In a topsy-turvy weekend thoughts of an upset immediately sprang to mind.
But then fortune took a long right-hand turn away from the Rabbitohs as Johns began to make his mark while two pivotal decisions went against them.
By the 25-minute mark the Knights were in front via tries to fullback Milton Thaiday and centre George Carmont.
Play was stopped after Carmont's try as South Sydney halfback Ben Walker strongly protested a stripping penalty decision by referee Jason Robinson that led to the try but, despite the validity of the argument, it only ended in a warning for Walker.
The Rabbitohs almost drew level just prior to the halftime break but the video referee determined that Nathan Merritt had knocked on rather than kneed on – as the Rabbitohs fullback had been hoping.