Melbourne Storm great Cooper Cronk has come to Penrith's defence over the ongoing contract saga surrounding young half Matt Burton.

Burton penned a three-year deal with Canterbury in November, with his time at Belmore set to start in 2022.

However, the Bulldogs have remain persistent with their call to lure Burton to Canterbury a year early, with the Panthers standing firm on having the 21-year-old play out his contract at the mountains.

The Bulldogs had been tabled a trade offer by the Panthers last month that would have seen former Maroon Dylan Napa head to Penrith in exchange for Burton's early release, an offer that was quickly turned down.

Reports surrounding the Bulldogs' continued push for Burton found a new surface this week as the Panthers and Bulldogs clashed at Bankwest Stadium.

For the second straight week, the Panthers were able to shutout their opponents in a 28-0 romping over the Bulldogs.

Burton didn't feature in the match, instead featuring in the NSW Cup. But an opportunity to come into the 17 is on the cards as star halfback Nathan Cleary is under an injury cloudy following a head knock from Saturday's match.

With discussions surrounding Burton's future given air once again, Cronk took the opportunity to support Penrith's decision to hold onto their rising star.

โ€œItโ€™s ridiculous this conversation,โ€ Cronk said onย Fox League.ย 

โ€œThe kid is contracted to Penrith and Penrith are in the box seat in a premiership window to win the competition.

โ€œWhy did Wayne Bennett recruit Benji Marshall? For exactly the same thing. If a gun half goes down at some stage, heโ€™s got a really ready-made half replacement.

โ€œWhile the question for him going to the Dogs is all about emotion, feel-good and the right thing today, Penrith want to win competitions, they want the best list they can possibly get and thatโ€™s 1-30, not 1-17.โ€

In response to Cronk's claims, Titans' head of performance and culture Mal Meninga reflected on his club's decision to allow recruit Tino Faโ€™asuamaleaui to play out the 2020 season with Melbourne.

โ€œHe could have come to our club last year but he chose to stay," Meninga said.

โ€œWe thought it was the best decision for him and he goes and plays for the Storm in a grand final.

โ€œHis growth and development through last year was fantastic. He comes to our club and we get nearly the best out of Tino because of the experiences he had 12 months prior.

โ€œ(Burton) is a great chance, if heโ€™s in the squad, to play in a grand final this year and you canโ€™t deny that sort of experience.โ€

Should Burton earn a call-up into Cleary's side next week, he will face the Storm in a Grand Final re-match at Panthers Stadium on Thursday.