Rugby league icon Phil Gould has revealed the moment he realised what an “exceptional talent” Matt Burton is.
Burton is the toast of New South Wales after putting in a starring performance on debut to help win the second State of Origin game.
The 22-year-old utility playmaker scored a try and caused havoc for Queensland with a number of towering spiral bombs, at least one of which got lost in the Optus Stadium lights.
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Gould has a close relationship with Burton, having helped bring him from Dubbo to Penrith, and then signed him at Canterbury.
“I’ll show you a text I sent him before the (Origin) game – I said ‘you were born to play at this level, don’t fear it, just embrace it’,” Gould told Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
“When Matt Burton came to the Bulldogs (this year) he hadn’t been playing in a playmaker position for three years – he hadn’t played five-eighth since he was 18, virtually.
“I said ‘you’ve got a great kicking game, but you need to get it ready to stand up under pressure’.
“We looked at all the types of kicks – his long kick-offs, his short kick-offs, his long line dropouts, his short line dropouts, his 40/20, his field goals, his goal kicking, and the bombs he kicks downfield for field position, the bombs he kicks with hang time so we can get down as a defensive unit.
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“I figured it might take him two or three seasons to perfect it all… he did it in two or three months. He is an exceptional talent.”
While Gould realised Burton’s freak kicking ability after his arrival at Belmore, it was well before that when the legendary figure knew he had a superstar on his hands.
Cleary, Burton combine for magical try
It was not long after Burton had arrived in Sydney’s west, having been recruited by the Panthers as a young prospect from the bush.
“I remember sitting there at training one day with Jimmy Jones, our recruitment manager… Matt Burton used to train without head gear, so he was not easy for an old bloke to pick up from the other end of the field,” Gould explained.
“He threw this brilliant pass, I said ‘please tell me that was Burton’, and (Jones) said ‘yeah, that was Burton’.
“I said, ‘Jimmy, I think he might be the best of the lot’ – which was a big statement at 18 years of age. He is an exceptional talent, and a wonderful young man.”
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