Unwelcome Matt: Why Penrith snubbed invite to Bulldogs’ Bankwest suite
By Michael Chammas
March 21, 2021 — 7.48pm
Panthers bosses rejected an invitation to watch Saturday’s game from Canterbury’s corporate suite after pot shots from the club’s major sponsor over the treatment of Matt Burton, who is in line to replace Nathan Cleary in Thursday night’s grand final rematch.
Penrith chief executive Brian Fletcher and chairman Dave O’Neill,
who on Sunday was evacuated from his Penrith home, had originally accepted an invitation from Bulldogs officials to watch the match at Bankwest Stadium in their catered directors box.
However on Friday, on the eve of the game, Panthers powerbrokers rescinded the RSVP following comments from Arthur Laundy questioning whether Penrith had Burton’s best interest at heart.
The Panthers directors instead purchased their own tickets and watched the 28-0 victory from the comfort of their own box at Bankwest Stadium. Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton popped into Penrith’s box to clear the air.
The Panthers are fed up with the constant debate over Burton’s future but have understood the motive behind Canterbury’s eagerness to lure Burton to the club. But the public callout from the Bulldogs’ major sponsor, who is business partners with one of Penrith’s board members, went too far.
Laundy’s comments have done little to help Canterbury’s hopes of acquiring Burton. Well placed Bulldogs sources have told the
Herald there is growing concern over Laundy’s eagerness to involve himself in club matters and comment on issues outside the jurisdiction of a sponsor. Thursday comments in
The Daily Telegraph was evidence of that.
“Let him go, they are standing in a young person’s way,” Laundy told the
Telegraph.
“If Matt Burton isn’t going to play first grade then we should have Matt Burton over at Canterbury, where, I believe, he is a certainty to play first grade.”
Ivan Cleary was disappointed in those comments when speaking in his post-match press conference.
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“To say we’re not thinking of the kid is wrong,” Ivan said. “Would he prefer to play first grade? Of course he would. But he’s played a grand total of 11 reserve-grade games and maybe six or seven first-grade games. That’s it. He’s just turned 21, he’s got the world at his feet and who knows, the Dogs might actually thank us this time next year.
“There was a period in the pre-season where I thought he was a bit distracted. We spoke and I think since then I reckon he’s been really good. I don’t know if he’s getting dialogue from Canterbury or what but all I can see is if he’s happy, he’s training hard and he’s playing well.”
Penrith’s decision to hold on to the five-eighth is likely to be vindicated this week with Burton in line to play his first NRL game for the season. Nathan Cleary is in huge doubt after he copped a swinging arm from former teammate Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on Saturday that has left the Bulldogs winger facing up to a three-game ban on top of his sin-binning during the game.
Cleary was taken from the field late in the match and later passed the head injury assessment, however Penrith are concerned about the short five-day turnaround and the health of their star playmaker.
Cleary has an appointment with the club’s doctor on Monday morning, with the Panthers unable to make a decision until at least two nights after the head knock. If Cleary is ruled out, Burton is expected to slot into the No.7 jumper and partner Jarome Luai in the halves.
“He said he was dazed after the hit,” Luai said of Cleary. “He is the master of the team and he gets us around the park, so [going up against Melbourne] would be a bit different without Nath out there.
“It will be up to coach, if he’s out or not. We really need to start well against Melbourne. That’s something we didn’t do
in the grand final, so we’re looking to do that.”
With Sarah Keoghan
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/un...-bulldogs-bankwest-suite-20210321-p57cpy.html
