Cappuccino
Kennel Legend
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2019
- Messages
- 9,161
- Reaction score
- 16,382
Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary says he feels sorry for Canterbury playmaker Jake Averillo who has constantly had to put up with his own club’s hot and very public pursuit of rival No. 6 Matt Burton.
Burton will finally get to play as the Canterbury five-eighth this week, albeit during an opposed field session to help the Panthers prepare for Saturday afternoon’s western Sydney grudge match.
The Dogs have hardly been subtle in letting it be known they want 20-year-old Burton to ditch playing reserve grade at Penrith for the chance to be their starting five-eighth immediately.
The Panthers need Burton as cover and are refusing to budge. Cleary said he could only imagine what kind of impact all the talk about Burton has had on the Dogs’ young local junior Averillo.
“The way Matty Burton has gone about things, he’s a class act, he’s been the best trainer all pre-season, he’s never kicked stones, he’s come in with a good attitude every day,” Cleary said on Tuesday. “[The early release] is constantly brought up.
“Averillo is a good player himself, he’s playing five-eighth for the Bulldogs, and he’s been a bit hard done by.
“I do feel a bit sorry for him. He’s a really good player. We’ll have to be on our A-game defending him. It’s a situation I’m happy I’m not in.”
Averillo is respected by Canterbury but is also a player who is young and can shift to fullback or even centre to accommodate Burton. When Averillo signed his latest extension until the end of 2023, he did so knowing Canterbury were advanced in their talks with Burton to play in the same five-eighth position.
Canterbury coach – and former Panthers assistant – Trent Barrett thinks highly of Burton, and admires his size and kicking game.
Halfback Kyle Flanagan did his bit for the Dogs’ latest sales pitch when he told the Herald over the weekend: “He’s a good kid and wants to play first grade. I remember when I was sitting in reserve grade and all you want to do is play first grade. It’s hard when you sit on the lounge on a Saturday and you watch your teammates go and play first grade. Let him come.”
To help the Panthers prepare for their Saturday afternoon clash against the Dogs, Burton will act as Averillo during Thursday’s main hit-out.
“Kurt Falls has come in as the halfback, he’ll pose as ‘Flanno’ [Flanagan] and ‘Burto’ will run as Averillo,” Cleary said.
While Burton remains a sore point between the two clubs – Penrith have lost count of the number of times they have told Canterbury to look elsewhere – there is only love for Barrett.
‘I’ll drive him over myself’: Flanagan leads push to get Burton to Belmore early
There is no bad blood between Barrett and Panthers counterpart Ivan Cleary, and especially no hostility with the players. Barrett was warmly greeted by senior Panthers when he bumped into them at a trial game at St Mary’s last month.
“Baz was really good for me, he gave me a lot of confidence and helped develop my game,” Cleary said.
Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo added: “He instilled a lot of confidence in me when moving from the back row to lock, and he helped me with passing and being in that middle role there.
“Outside of football he’s a really good bloke as well, he has a lot of stories, he’s easy to talk to and if you ever need to talk he was happy to answer your call.
“As players, it’s no grudge match for us. Everyone respects ‘Baz’ and had a good relationship with him.”
Penrith will enter the clash riding high having won 24-0 against the Cowboys, while the Dogs lost their opening-round game against the Knights.
Burton will finally get to play as the Canterbury five-eighth this week, albeit during an opposed field session to help the Panthers prepare for Saturday afternoon’s western Sydney grudge match.
The Dogs have hardly been subtle in letting it be known they want 20-year-old Burton to ditch playing reserve grade at Penrith for the chance to be their starting five-eighth immediately.
The Panthers need Burton as cover and are refusing to budge. Cleary said he could only imagine what kind of impact all the talk about Burton has had on the Dogs’ young local junior Averillo.
“The way Matty Burton has gone about things, he’s a class act, he’s been the best trainer all pre-season, he’s never kicked stones, he’s come in with a good attitude every day,” Cleary said on Tuesday. “[The early release] is constantly brought up.
“Averillo is a good player himself, he’s playing five-eighth for the Bulldogs, and he’s been a bit hard done by.
“I do feel a bit sorry for him. He’s a really good player. We’ll have to be on our A-game defending him. It’s a situation I’m happy I’m not in.”
Averillo is respected by Canterbury but is also a player who is young and can shift to fullback or even centre to accommodate Burton. When Averillo signed his latest extension until the end of 2023, he did so knowing Canterbury were advanced in their talks with Burton to play in the same five-eighth position.
Canterbury coach – and former Panthers assistant – Trent Barrett thinks highly of Burton, and admires his size and kicking game.
Halfback Kyle Flanagan did his bit for the Dogs’ latest sales pitch when he told the Herald over the weekend: “He’s a good kid and wants to play first grade. I remember when I was sitting in reserve grade and all you want to do is play first grade. It’s hard when you sit on the lounge on a Saturday and you watch your teammates go and play first grade. Let him come.”
To help the Panthers prepare for their Saturday afternoon clash against the Dogs, Burton will act as Averillo during Thursday’s main hit-out.
“Kurt Falls has come in as the halfback, he’ll pose as ‘Flanno’ [Flanagan] and ‘Burto’ will run as Averillo,” Cleary said.
While Burton remains a sore point between the two clubs – Penrith have lost count of the number of times they have told Canterbury to look elsewhere – there is only love for Barrett.
‘I’ll drive him over myself’: Flanagan leads push to get Burton to Belmore early
There is no bad blood between Barrett and Panthers counterpart Ivan Cleary, and especially no hostility with the players. Barrett was warmly greeted by senior Panthers when he bumped into them at a trial game at St Mary’s last month.
“Baz was really good for me, he gave me a lot of confidence and helped develop my game,” Cleary said.
Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo added: “He instilled a lot of confidence in me when moving from the back row to lock, and he helped me with passing and being in that middle role there.
“Outside of football he’s a really good bloke as well, he has a lot of stories, he’s easy to talk to and if you ever need to talk he was happy to answer your call.
“As players, it’s no grudge match for us. Everyone respects ‘Baz’ and had a good relationship with him.”
Penrith will enter the clash riding high having won 24-0 against the Cowboys, while the Dogs lost their opening-round game against the Knights.
