Cashed-up Canterbury are targeting Penrith young gun Matt Burton as their long-term five-eighth.
As the Bulldogs close in on announcing Panthers assistant Trent Barrett as the club’s new head coach, the boys from Belmore are also circling Burton.
The Dubbo junior is contracted until the end of 2021, but he hasn’t played NRL for the past three weeks following the return of Tyrone May from suspension.
Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai are also Penrith’s preferred option in the halves, leaving Burton stranded on the sidelines.
The Panthers want to retain the rising playmaker, but they are also understanding of him wanting to pursue a starting first grade position.
Canterbury’s Burton interest comes only a week after Penrith warned Barrett not to pouch the club’s young stars.
The Panthers would allow Barrett out of his 2021 deal but don’t want him stealing key players if he joins Canterbury.
But Bulldogs officials, who last week secured Canberra’s representative flyer Nick Cotric, remain determined to lure Burton to Belmore, and they will officially kickstart talks from November 1 this year.
Canterbury is keen to secure a stable long-term five-eighth following Kieran Foran’s long-running injury battles.
The Bulldogs are prepared to retain Foran for next season but on a significantly reduced contract to his current $1.2 million a year deal.
This could open the door for Burton, who has scored two tries in his five NRL appearances, to join Canterbury from the 2022 season onwards if not before if he can gain a release from Penrith.
The Bulldogs are also interested in luring Brisbane outside back Jack Bird to the club, although they are not sold on his signature due to his run of injuries.
Canterbury want to tick every box before they even consider signing Brisbane’s Jack Bird following his injury-interrupted tenure at the Broncos.
Canterbury officials are demanding a complete medical check before they commit to Bird, who has only played 17 games since joining the Broncos in 2017 following consecutive ACL knee injuries.
The Bulldogs are wary of signing an injury-prone player after their difficult experience with Foran in the past three seasons.
It’s why they won’t rush to sign Bird before they have a clear indication of his injury-prone body moving forward.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/b...n/news-story/836853ac84b3dcd17336911cb0a735a9
As the Bulldogs close in on announcing Panthers assistant Trent Barrett as the club’s new head coach, the boys from Belmore are also circling Burton.
The Dubbo junior is contracted until the end of 2021, but he hasn’t played NRL for the past three weeks following the return of Tyrone May from suspension.
Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai are also Penrith’s preferred option in the halves, leaving Burton stranded on the sidelines.
The Panthers want to retain the rising playmaker, but they are also understanding of him wanting to pursue a starting first grade position.
Canterbury’s Burton interest comes only a week after Penrith warned Barrett not to pouch the club’s young stars.
The Panthers would allow Barrett out of his 2021 deal but don’t want him stealing key players if he joins Canterbury.
But Bulldogs officials, who last week secured Canberra’s representative flyer Nick Cotric, remain determined to lure Burton to Belmore, and they will officially kickstart talks from November 1 this year.
Canterbury is keen to secure a stable long-term five-eighth following Kieran Foran’s long-running injury battles.
The Bulldogs are prepared to retain Foran for next season but on a significantly reduced contract to his current $1.2 million a year deal.
This could open the door for Burton, who has scored two tries in his five NRL appearances, to join Canterbury from the 2022 season onwards if not before if he can gain a release from Penrith.
The Bulldogs are also interested in luring Brisbane outside back Jack Bird to the club, although they are not sold on his signature due to his run of injuries.
Canterbury want to tick every box before they even consider signing Brisbane’s Jack Bird following his injury-interrupted tenure at the Broncos.
Canterbury officials are demanding a complete medical check before they commit to Bird, who has only played 17 games since joining the Broncos in 2017 following consecutive ACL knee injuries.
The Bulldogs are wary of signing an injury-prone player after their difficult experience with Foran in the past three seasons.
It’s why they won’t rush to sign Bird before they have a clear indication of his injury-prone body moving forward.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/b...n/news-story/836853ac84b3dcd17336911cb0a735a9
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