Greg Alexander erupts at Panthers critics as Phil Gould declares treatment of Matt Burton unfair
March 17, 2021 FOOTY COACH 0 Comments
Furious Penrith board member Greg Alexander on Wednesday night declared anyone who believes the club’s decision to deny Matt Burton an early release to Canterbury is unfair ‘has no idea how the game works’.
Earlier on Wednesday, Alexander’s former premiership-winning coach and ex-Panthers general manager of football Phil Gould, declared Penrith’s hardline stance isn’t fair on the 21-year-old.
Alexander erupted on
Fox Sports’ NRL 360 when
News Corp Australia journalist Paul Kent accused the Panthers of a double standard.
Kent referenced the brutal treatment of veteran winger Josh Mansour, who was effectively sacked in a coffee shop just days after the grand-final loss to Melbourne, despite having a year left on his contract.
Meanwhile, boom half-back Burton is languishing in reserve grade after the Panthers denied his repeated requests to join the Bulldogs immediately.
“Who’s fair? Are you serious? Are you being serious saying fair? Do you think the game is fair? Please,” Alexander fumed on
NRL 360.
He added when told many fans and pundits believe the Panthers’ treatment of Burton is unfair: “Well you know what, those people have got absolutely no idea how the game works.
“And if you could name some of those people, I’d love to give them a call and say, ‘Are you kidding me?’
“… He’s under contract, and you know how the game works.”
But Gould, who built the Panthers’ development system that produced Burton, is among those who believe last year’s minor premiers are in the wrong.
“I think Matt Burton needs to play NRL to improve, it’s two years since he debuted and he’s only had a handful of games since, so I just don’t think it’s fair on him,” Gould told the
Six Tackles with Gus podcast earlier on Wednesday.
Burton has played six NRL games since making his debut in the top grade in Round 21 of the 2019 season.
He signed a three-year deal with Canterbury starting in 2022 in November and would walk straight into the Bulldogs’ starting halves if the Panthers agreed to release him this season.
“There comes a time when you’ve got to think about the best interests of the player,” Gould, who is currently a senior consultant for the New Zealand Warriors, said.
“… He’s spinning his wheels, and I don’t think it’s doing his career any benefit out there waiting for a game in the centres or just training against the first-grade side.
“He needs to be playing NRL football, he can’t learn any more by playing second tier, so sometimes it’s in the best interests of the player to just make a decision and let him go.
“And if you do that, and you do it amicably and you do it in his best interests, you can buy him back in a few years’ time because the relationship is solid, you’ve done the right thing by the player.
“… It’s sad sometimes you’ve got to let a good kid go but it’s in the kid’s best interests.
“I’m not telling them what to do or how to do it but I feel a little bit for Matt Burton because he’s spinning his wheels a bit at the moment, he should be playing first-grade.”
Burton will play NSW Cup for Penrith against Mounties at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday before watching his future Bulldogs team-mates do battle with his Panthers in a Round 2 NRL clash.
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