“He was a class act and opponents didn’t know how to handle him” – Our YEP Jury pick their favourite Leeds Rhinos hooker

GRAHAM POULTER

Hi everyone so another week has passed by and we’re still none the wiser as to when we can restart the season.

This week’s position in the team is the hooker. For me I had to choose between a guy who came through the system and a guy who was only here for a short time, but what a class player he was.

I’m talking about, of course, Matt Diskin and Danny Buderus. Firstly Matt Diskin was sensational in his position especially in the 2004 season when he played in a fantastic team who only lost two games all season in the league and also won every home game.

He then picked up a serious knee injury playing for his country and he was never quite the same player again after that.

My favourite in the position of hooker has to be Danny Buderus. He was a class act and most of the time he was on another level to the players that were around him.

He always seemed to be one move ahead of his team-mates in thinking, which obviously came from his days playing in the far superior NRL and for his country Australia.

I just wished that he could have come earlier and played longer for us!

ADAM ANDERSON

So favourite number nine for the club is a tough one.

You could go with Matt Diskin, for being home grown talent and winning a number of trophies at the club, but I’ve had to go with one of our biggest name Australian signings in Danny Buderus.

Everyone knew the name and what he was capable of before he came to the club. He’d been involved in so many big games for club, country and state whilst in Australia. He was a class act and opponents didn’t know how to handle him.

He didn’t disappoint us. Everyone was in awe at what he could do and I’m glad our management team managed to get a player of his calibre.

Not only a class act on the field, but also off it and I cannot speak highly enough about him. He left Leeds to return to Newcastle with his head held high.

CHRISTINE KIDD

Leeds Rhinos have had a number of excellent hookers over the last few years.

Matt Diskin was in excellent form until he got injured playing for Great Britain at the end of the 2004 season.

Shaun Lunt was an important part of the team when he joined the Rhinos during the 2012 season. He played in the winning Grand Final side that season.

Danny Buderus joined Leeds in 2009. He was a world class hooker who played State of Origin and represented Australia on 24 occasions.

Although he came to Leeds towards the end of his career he was a class act on and off the field.

The best off-the-bench hooker for the Rhinos has to be Robbie Burrow.

He came on and changed the pace of the game on many occasions. His try against St Helens during the 2011 Grand Final is one of the finest ever seen.

He became the first Leeds player to win the Harry Sunderland trophy twice, after gaining all 37 votes from the press. For such a small player he made a lot of impact in games.

DIANNE HALL

This lockdown has given me a chance to relive past Leeds Rhinos games and it has given me food for thought for this piece.

I had forgotten just how many different players have represented us at hooker, that all important position in the spine of any rugby team.

My particular favourite was Matt ‘Disco’ Diskin, who I was surprised to realise is our longest serving acting-half in the Super League era.

In a nine-year career at HQ he made over 200 appearances, by far the most for a hooker.

A product of the Academy system he never gave less than 100 per cent.

Unfortunately, his Rhinos career was curtailed with the arrival of my second favourite Danny Buderus, in 2009. I think that Disco felt aggrieved to have the number nine shirt taken from him and ultimately, he went to the enemy that is the Bradford Bulls.

Buderus also gave his all for the cause and his tenacity often gave the team momentum when they were stalling. None more so than the nail-biting victory against Wakefield at Murrayfield in 2010.

IAN SHARP

Another week passes us by, on to the number nine spot this week.

I’ve always said that the hooker role is the key part to any squad and is a very specialised position, as it starts off every attacking play set up from the ruck.

It’s quite frustrating to see sometimes teams reduced to just anyone playing in it. You would not put a prop in at full-back! Over the years we have been blessed with some great ones, and the odd duff one (Beau Falloon).

One of the best I have seen play live is the late Terry Newton. He was born to play at nine, his awareness and passing was on the money 99 per cent of the time and he was a sad loss to the game in 2010.

Another favourite of mine was Paul McShane. I was amazed that he never got the games he deserved under Brian McDermott. I am guessing his face didn’t fit.

Matt Parcell was another great hooker, as is Brad Dwyer. He reminds me of Joel Moon, with his jinking off the cuff runs.

Let’s hope it’s not long before we are all back watching him in action at Headingley.

MATT FOWLER

Unlike many positions during the golden generation the hooking role has seen many different players succeed and fail, Beau Falloon being the obvious low point, along with some who offered great promise but never quite nailed down the position at Leeds – Paul McShane and Liam Hood spring to mind on that score.

Matt Diskin, Lee Jackson, Shaun Lunt and Rob Burrow have all won silverware playing hooker for Leeds, but my favourite is Danny Buderus.

He only played three seasons for Leeds but his stature as a world-class player was evident whenever he took to the field. Sometimes your favourite players aren’t the most successful ones. Danny had injuries at Leeds which restricted his game time, but he still stood out to me when he was in the side.

It was obvious from watching him and watching the other players around him, he brought that extra something.

He was a calming influence on the team and took a lot of pressure off the other playmakers.

He was one of the best ever Australian No 9s and it was a real pleasure to watch him perform in a Leeds shirt.

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