Matt Burton ready to handle the heat in Bulldogs halves

Coming into 2022 new Bulldogs halves star Matt Burton has the weight of the world on his shoulders as he looks to play saviour for the Canterbury-Bankstown club — and he’s already eager to prove he can handle the heat.

“That’s part of the game,” Burton said of the weight of Bulldog expectations.

The 21-year-old Dubbo star is already very used to the NRL, having played 32 games between 2019 and modern-day, including 26 last year. The Bulldogs project, which he now finds himself right in the centre of as heir to the number six jumper, is a different beast entirely though. The club is as far from Penrith’s glittering super team as possible.

In fact, the Bulldogs have failed to make finals since 2016, and have only finished above fifth three times since 2006. Despite that, the Sydney organisation’s fanbase, and powerbrokers, expect NRL success. It’s the number one milestone marker for Burton as he dons blue and white in the 2022 season.

“You have to handle it. Having what happened last year will definitely help me this season. It’s been tough for Bulldogs fans. Hopefully us guys (the club has made a raft of major signings) can come in and make a change for the club, step up to take this side to a new level.

“It’s a great club and a lot of great people involved in the club,” Burton said of the reasons he joined the Sydney powerhouse. “That’s why I signed here. I thought I could really cement myself at this club.”

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Burton has yet to truly get his feet under the desk, with the Bulldogs first real NRL game not on the cards until round 1 in early March, but he’s already feeling comfortable in his new digs. The club have returned to training, the 21-year-old is practicing five-eighth again under Trent Barrett’s watchful eye, and is ready to rip in.

Funnily enough, Burton reveals, it all could have happened a year earlier too.

“Yeah I did ask to leave,” Burton admitted for the first time. “A couple of times, actually. Obviously Jarome [Luai] and Nathan [Cleary] were the halves there at the time and I wanted to play in the halves.

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“When the centre opportunity came along, I gave it a crack, loved it. I was happy playing first grade. That’s what I wanted, so it worked out really good for me at the end of the day. Ivan was really good about it. We had a chat there and he was really honest with me. He pretty much told me, ‘You’re staying at the club’. I accepted that.

“There was just a lot of talk around it after that. It was a bit awkward. There was a lot of talk around me leaving and it was a bit awkward for me between the boys.

“People think you’re leaving and whatnot, but I just wanted to play footy, wherever that was. It’s weird how it ended up because it turned out being all right from my behalf staying.”

“It certainly would have been beneficial for us if we had him last year,” Barrett said. “But in terms of experience for Matt, you can’t buy that. I was really happy for him and really happy for Penrith that they were able to do what they did. They’re a cracking team. He’ll be a better player for it having played those big games.”

Barret claims Burton will go on to do big things at the club, even as rumours he’s “quiet” floating around the club’s training yard: “There’s been plenty of great players who are introverted people.”

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