The former Newcastle Knights rake is in Mudgee as part of Fox’s coverage of the NRL match between St George Illawarra and Canberra at Glen Willow on Sunday and it’s the former’s connection with the tiny Group 10 town that has Buderus licking his lips.

Put simply, he wants all NRL clubs to find an area of the country and link with it to to help promote the game in regional centres.

“I love how the Dragons have an affiliation here, I think all clubs should have an affiliation with an area in NSW in regional areas,” he told the Mudgee Guardian.

“If you can take games out there, being a country boy myself, I know how much it means to everyone.”

The former Blues skipper says junior footy in the bush will benefit from such a mover because the kids “learn by watching”.

“If you can watch it live it inspires you more, that’s what I think,” he said ahead of an expected bumper crowd on hand to watch the Dragons take on the Raiders in Mudgee.

Of course, having a facility of the calibre of Glen Willow makes linking with a region like Mudgee easy to do.

And St George’s first foray into the area in February for the Charity Shield clash with South Sydney proved a massive hit, attracting a record crowd of just under 10,000 people.

“I’m really looking forward to getting out there,” he added.

“Everyone loves playing there and as far as a regional facility goes the reports are there is none better.”