Phil Gould pays tribute to Danny Buderus as the Blues' inspirational leader prepares to exit the Origin cauldron.

If NSW can win the third and deciding State of Origin match this Wednesday night, it will be a fitting farewell to representative football for one of the all-time great players in our game.

I speak, of course, of our NSW captain Danny Buderus, who will leave these shores at the end of the season to finish his career in the English Super League.

Before I go on about Danny's outstanding career may I please take this opportunity to express my disgust at the ridiculous salary cap laws that force great players such as Buderus to leave the NRL and play overseas, when it is quite obvious they still have plenty to offer our game in Australia.

The people who run this game, plus the people who own this game and their loyal journalistic servants, detest anyone with the hide to point out the many ways they are destroying our game. Rather than trying to shoot the messengers, perhaps they should work harder in the best interests of the game to fix these problems. Thank you.

Now, let's get back to Danny Buderus. Without doubt, he is one of the best and most courageous footballers I've ever seen.

Prior to Danny, the best hooker forward I ever saw was Steve Walters. I never thought I would see another to challenge his ability.

Then along comes this bloke Buderus. Wow, what a player!

I first saw him play in schoolboy football as a half/five-eighth. He was impressive enough without appearing to be anything right out of the box. I followed his career with great interest, even though he'd signed to play with a rival club to the one I was coaching.

He made his first-grade debut in 1997, playing only one game that season off the bench. In reserve grade that year, he played primarily at five-eighth and occasionally at halfback.

In his second season, he played 19 games; 13 off the bench, three at hooker, two at fullback and one at centre. He played two matches at centre early in the 1999 season but then took over at hooker full-time by round eight, following the retirement of none other than the man I previously mentioned, Steve Walters. Warren Ryan was the Newcastle coach at this time.

It was at this point his true talents started to emerge. This was around the era when artificially quick play-the-balls were the vogue in our game and coaches were searching for the ex-halfback, ball-playing hooker forward who could be dangerous out of the dummy-half position.

Perhaps this was the primary reason Buderus earned his shot as a hooker. However, those responsible for giving him the chance soon got a lot more than they bargained for.

Not only was this bloke quick, skilful and creative, he was as tough as teak, with a constitution possessed by only the very elite. While other sides were obsessed with rotating two and even three players in this important position to maintain their speed of play and protect these smaller chaps from individually having to do too much defence, Buderus provided his team with a wholehearted 80-minute solution to their needs.

The way he threw himself into his defensive work, time and time again, against much bigger opponents; the number of tackles he made every week; the errors he forced into his opponents with his harassing nature; the tries he saved; the distance he covered to provide service for his team from dummy half on every play, every minute of every game - when you added all that up, the workload this man delivered was truly amazing.

Yet despite all the energy-sapping, physically fatiguing hack work Buderus undertook in every match, he still had the spark, speed and composure to execute the most intricate and skilful of plays, giving his side a dimension in attack other teams simply could not rival.

The other thing that stood him apart from the pack was his ability to play with pain and injury. Only coaches and teammates are usually privy to the extent of such heroics but I'm sure all who coached Buderus and played with him will have their stories. His brilliance never really gained the recognition it deserved because for most of his career he played in the shadow of the greatest player of all time, Andrew Johns.

Go ask Johns who was the best player he ever played with. I will be staggered if he doesn't say Danny Buderus. Their combination was sensational. The communication and understanding between the pair was unparalleled in any half/hooker combination I've ever witnessed.

Buderus has achieved so much in the game, from Australian and state representation to grand final success and player-of-the-year awards. However, if he can captain the Blues to a win on Wednesday night, Buderus will set a few special records that will put an exclamation mark on an already outstanding career.

He will break Brad Fittler's record for most Origin matches as NSW captain. He will break Paul Harragon's record of most consecutive Origin matches for NSW.

If NSW succeed, he will equal Laurie Daley's record of three series wins as captain and equal Fittler's record for most games won as captain.

When the game is over, the very humble Buderus certainly won't be one to mention the significance of the occasion. However, those who know him are well aware of the importance of this night. We also know that no one deserves a win more than he does.

Good luck Bedsy - and good luck to the Blues!