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My initial reaction on hearing the NRL were out to block Danny Buderus from taking up a coaching role with rugby union team the ACT Brumbies was thinking the NRL are a bit like a jealous ex-partner.
We have all encountered one of them in our time, you know, that crazy, ‘If I can’t have you no one can’ kind of ex.
Originally due to start work yesterday, Buderus has since been clued up on his obligations and withdrawn from the role of ‘collision coach’ with the Canberra based club.
The Brumbies coach Jake White even cited his appreciation to the Knights for allowing Buderus to join the ranks.
“I’d like to thank the Newcastle Knights, in particular their head coach Wayne Bennett for being so accommodating with Danny’s services.”
Despite the obvious question of where on earth was his manager during these all these negotiations, Buderus, who is a key figure at the Knights, had heads scratching at NRL headquarters when a press conference was held in Canberra to announce he had taken on a role with a competing code.
Problem was old Danny boy still held a contract with the NRL, which I have no doubt has a clause similar to something along the lines of, “Don’t go to the dark side that is rugby union. Ever. We will come after you”.
Rugby league folk sure get shirty when players jump ship.
The crème de la crème of all coaches, Knights head coach Bennett, summed it up best.
“There’s a lot of rules around what these blokes can and can’t do,” he said of the bungled Buderus deal.
“It’s not an issue for me or the club. But if there has been any rules that we have breached, then it’s been done very innocently by him and us.”
Now I could go about previous league to union defectors and the onslaught that follows, but that is just opening a never-ending can of worms.
John Hart, the former coach of the All Blacks from 1996 until after the 1999 Rugby World Cup, took on a role as a mentor to the coaching staff with rugby league team the New Zealand Warriors.
His years at the club were some of the Warriors’ best, with New Zealand reaching the top eight four out of the six seasons he was onboard, including a grand final appearance.
Still, no one in union blinked an eye at the code switch.
Let us all remember that union is New Zealand’s prime sporting religion.
Is it perhaps then just a rugby league thing? Not to compare the passion from various sports codes, but league diehards are a force to be reckoned with (myself included).
The Wallabies and AFL clubs have always had a friendly relationship, with the most recent affair being former Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos assisting the Wallabies with their somewhat shaky aerial work (nice work there mate).
No one cared to fire up at Roos’ flirtation in the two codes.
It’s looking more and more like it’s a union/league issue in Australia. Union is the private schooled, rich new boyfriend turning league into an unreasonable psycho when its players go over for a look.
If only the two could get to know one another, perhaps both could learn some new techniques to take back to their respective codes.
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