Matt Burton has committed to honouring his Bulldogs contract amid sniping over his future from current club Penrith.
The Panthers are agitating for Burton to stay despite the young star having signed a three-year contract with Canterbury from next season.
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett launched a robust defence of the signing on Saturday night after his team's first win of the season and Burton confirmed his plans on Sunday.
"I'm fully committed to the Bulldogs next year," Burton said on The Sunday Footy Show.
"I'm looking forward to that but my main focus this year is just focusing on my job here at Panthers and I'm really loving it at the moment."
Burton said that Penrith had not directly asked him to stay at the club.
"Nah, not at the moment, I haven't been asked at the moment," he said.
Burton has found a makeshift home in the centres, outside his preferred spot at five-eighth. He had been in superb form despite being out of position, yet signed with Canterbury for the chance to play in the No.6 jersey, with Jarome Luai locked in as Penrith's five-eighth.
Burton has greatly impressed NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler with his efforts at centre. 'Freddy' suggested that he may be a bolter among a raft of Panthers players who will be picked for the Blues.
"Matt Burton's been outstanding. Just the quality ... you can see how many positions he plays, he's a great player," Fittler said on The Sunday Footy Show.
Burton responded to Fittler praise by saying: "Yeah, it's pretty special, to get the little rap there. [Origin] is somewhere where I want to get to in my game and hopefully [I] get that opportunity one day. It's be a dream come true."
NSW great Peter Sterling confidently said of Burton: "He'll play Origin."
Fittler continued: "I don't think anyone realised how good he was.
"When I looked at the decision when Ivan picked Jarome Luai, because Matt Burton had that little bit of run just prior to Ivan coming there and I'm thinking, 'Well you know what, Jarome? I know they played together him and Nathan ...'
"But then, Jarome's just been scintillating and we haven't really been able to see how good he is; until every time he plays, he's the best player. And then he comes and plays centre and he's the best player there as well.
"He's pretty special."
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/matt-burton-panthers-bulldogs-future-star-commits-to-canterbury/c19c28b4-f4e9-4b75-87c4-f3221fc92539
0 Comments