Buderus gets until last minute for NSW - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Buderus gets until last minute for NSW

By Steve Jancetic 22/05/2006 07:04:03 PM Comments (0)

The NSW rugby league camp remains in disarray just two days out from Wednesday night's opening State of Origin clash with centre Timana Tahu joining skipper Danny Buderus as a spectator at Monday's Aussie Stadium training session.

Buderus was only able to complete a light walk on a treadmill on Monday afternoon as he continued his ongoing battle with back spasms, while Tahu missed most of the session after complaining of feeling unwell.

Tahu did eventually join his teammates in having a light run towards the end of the session, with NSW officials denying he was in any danger of missing the match.

The same can't be said for Buderus however, with NSW coach Graham Murray saying he would give Buderus until the last minute to prove his fitness, with Penrith rake Luke Priddis joining the squad on standby on Monday.

"I'd give him as much time as I thought was necessary, he is the captain and he is one of the elite players," Murray said.

"Although Luke Priddis is a good player and he's a good back-up, I'd just like to give (Buderus) every chance he's got and he'd like to do that to.

"He's had extensive physio and we'll just see how he is tomorrow.

"Obviously if you don't train today you're in a bit of doubt, that's why we've asked Luke Priddis to come down."

The injury to Buderus is the latest in a string of setbacks for the Blues, who lost Matt Cooper on the second day of camp with a hamstring injury while his centre partner Mark Gasnier was only cleared to play after passing a fitness test on his injured hip last Thursday.

Buderus moved gingerly as he made his way from the gym to join the rest of his teammates on the training paddock, but was not prepared to rate his chances of leading the Blues onto Telstra Stadium.

"I'm walking a lot better anyway, so anti-inflammatories and whatever and we'll see what happens tomorrow," Buderus said.

Murray remained confident that his star hooker would be right to play.

"He's better than he was yesterday and that's the positive side of it, but he's certainly not out of the woods at this point in time," Murray said.

"Fifty-fifty, I'm not sure which way to lean, but I just look at the calibre of the bloke he is, he's tough and he wants to play, so I'm leaning towards he'll play."

The loss of the experienced Buderus would be a major blow to the Blues, who are already without several players in key positions due to injury and representative retirement.

Priddis said he was ready for the challenge of filling the void despite his limited preparation.

"You'd prefer to know one way or the other, but you've just got to roll with the way the cards are dealt, that's all I can do," Priddis said.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity if Danny doesn't pull through, first training session today, we'll see how we go."

Another Panther who could benefit from Buderus' unavailability is halfback Craig Gower, who is in line to assume the NSW captaincy.

"Craig Gower's at the top of the list but I'll make that decision when and if I have to," Murray said of the captaincy candidates.

The Blues wind up their preparations on Tuesday with a final training run at Telstra Stadium.

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