Knights legend Danny Buderus says his passion for the club and desire to be a part of a "special ride" over the next few years is behind his decision to take on the role of general manager of football.
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In an appointment that has been met with widespread approval, Buderus has walked away from the final year of his contract with Fox Sports to take up a three year deal at the Knights after being head-hunted by the club.
One of the most respected figures in rugby league, the NRL Hall of Famer will take over next month from the departing Brian Canavan following an initial approach from Knights CEO Phil Gardner.
Buderus told the Newcastle Herald it was a conversation with coach Adam O'Brien 10 days ago that helped make up his mind about returning to the club.
"It's been a pretty full-on couple of weeks where I've been contemplating the pros and cons and basically getting my head around what I can bring to the club and how I can help Adam and his staff be successful," he said.
"Adam reached out to me and just how passionate he was about getting me on board, that was obviously a huge positive for me.
"I went and saw him a few weeks ago just to say hello and I saw the club and the environment he has created there. It's pretty exciting.
"But in the end the real sealer was the club - the club that I love and the region. For the region to have some success again - that was probably the clincher and a real driving factor.
"I just think we are ready, the club is ready, the region is ready and I just feel like we are in for a pretty special ride over the next few years."
Gardner described Buderus' appointment as a massive coup for the Knights.
"We are obviously extremely happy to have him back on board," Gardner said. "Danny loves the place and is an icon of the club. He just completes what is for me, an outstanding football department at our club.
"To have Adam and Alex [McKinnon] and now Danny Buderus steering the ship, we have put ourselves in a really strong position going forward.
"Danny will be across everything in the football department from the junior development right through to NRL and we are very confident he will do a wonderful job."
Buderus is the most capped player in the club's history with 257 NRL games, 67 as captain. He has also been an interim top grade coach, assistant coach and sat on the club's advisory board before it was disbanded at the end of last season.
O'Brien is thrilled with the appointment and says having Buderus on board "completes everything I need".
"Having Bedsy there is a huge positive for us," he said. "He's got a deep love for the club and the town and that will resonate right through the place but in particular the playing group.
"I couldn't be happier with the staff I have. From a coaching perspective, I've got Dave [David Furner] who has been there and done that and Willie [Peters] just has this great relationship going with the boys and our halves in particular.
"I probably needed someone in this role who wasn't going to be totally absorbed like we are in the day-to-day stuff to give a different insight, someone who really gets footy and Bedsy obviously stood out in that regard."
O'Brien said Buderus' lack of experience would not be a factor.
"BC [Canavan] has been unreal and is staying back a few weeks to assist Bedsy in the transition and advise him which is fantastic," he said.
Fox Sports has agreed to let Buderus out of the final year of his contract but he will still be involved with the NSW Blues as assistant Origin coach.
"It's obviously a big change - I've loved my time at Fox but I'm excited and reckon I may have always regretted it and thought what if had I not taken the job," Buderus said.
"It's an amazing opportunity and once I started to explore it and spoke to the right people about the sort of role it was, I guess it became clear that I could definitely be of some sort of assistance to the club."
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