Matt Burton has opened up for the first time on his contract tug-of-war, revealing he approached the Panthers at least two times to request an early release.

While Cowboys’ back rower Mitchell Dunn has revealed which player has been training the house down for the North Queensland club.

Read on for the latest NRL Off-season Central.

Bulldogs star recruit Matt Burton has for the first time admitted to asking for a release from the Panthers last year as he opened up on the ongoing contract saga.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Burton said he asked Penrith coach Ivan Cleary if he could leave the club “a couple of times”.

That approached was turned down on both occasions.

“Obviously Jarome [Luai] and Nathan [Cleary] were the halves there at the time and I wanted to play in the halves,” he said.

Then Burton made the permanent switch to the centres in a move he said he “loved”.

“I was happy playing first grade,” he added.

“That’s what I wanted, so it worked out really good for me at the end of the day. Ivan was really good about it.

“We had a chat there and he was really honest with me. He pretty much told me, ‘You’re staying at the club’. I accepted that.”

While the situation may have been dealt with in-house, the unfortunate reality for Burton is that the drama continued to drag on as Bulldogs sponsors even got involved.

“There was just a lot of talk around it after that,” Burton said.

“It was a bit awkward. There was a lot of talk around me leaving and it was a bit awkward for me between the boys.

“People think you’re leaving and what not, but I just wanted to play footy, wherever that was. It’s weird how it ended up because it turned out being all right from my behalf staying.”

Burton joins the Bulldogs this season as a key part on the Belmore rebuild on a deal reported to be worth $1 million over two years.

KEPAOA SUFFERS ANOTHER SETBACK

Wests Tigers outside back Asu Kepaoa has suffered another setback, tearing for his pectoral muscle at training this week.

The 21-year-old returned to pre-season after rupturing his ACL in the Tigers’ round six clash against the Rabbitohs in 2021.

But now he has undergone surgery and specialists have conceded that the best outcome would be a three-month recovery, meaning the earliest he could return to the field would be round eight according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

His recovery period could extend to four months depending on rehabilitation.

Kepaoa had been training in the centres and was looking likely to start for the merger club in round one, before suffering what is believed to be a partial tear.

The Tigers are already missing Adam Doueihi and Tommy Talau, both suffering ACL injuries but have added a number of outside backs to their roster.

Starford Toa joined the club from Newcastle earlier this month, while junior Wallaby Junior Tupou, English centre Oliver Gildart and utility Tyrone Peachey could all be utilised in the centres.

MCINTYRE AIMS FOR TOP 17 SPOT

 

After re-signing with the Titans last week, Sam McIntyre has laid out his intentions for the 2022 season.

The 23-year-old made the move from the Tigers after the 2020 season and played 10 games for the Gold Coast side in 2021, cleary impressing coach Justin Holbrook.

“I am really happy to be backed by the coaches and the club here.. I am really happy,” McIntyre said.

“I would love to play a bit more first grade this year, I want to cement a spot whether that be starting or off the bench, anywhere the coach wants me to play.”