New Canterbury Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould has admitted they were lucky to sign Matt Burton when they did.
Burton was signed in November by the Bulldogs, the deal set to keep the youngster at Belmore until at least the end of 2024.
He will walk straight into the struggling Canterbury outfit, who are plastered to the bottom of the competition table and almost certainly consigned to the wooden spoon for this season.
But now Gould concedes that Burton, who worked through his own development system at the Penrith Panthers, wouldn't have accepted the same deal the Bulldogs signed him on if it was tabled today.
The Bulldogs now may just have the buy of 2022, on something of a cut-price deal, with the young gun finding a permanent role in the Penrith starting 13 since signing the deal, even if that has come in the unfamiliar centre position.
On the rare occasions he has been shifted into the halves, he has been fantastic for Penrith.
Burton has made 18 appearances so far this season, including a stunning two-try, four-goal performance against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday evening, where he also kicked for 340 metres and ran for 212.
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Gould told Channel 9s 100% footy that Burton wouldn't have signed for a reported $450,000 today, but that it would be a sense of timing as to whether he would be upgraded when talking to former Cronulla Sharks' forward Paul Gallen.
"What I will say, Paul, is that I've never ever, ever in my life had a player underpaid at any club I've been that. They've never been underpaid, whether they're on contract or not," Gould said.
"Having said that, it's all a sense of timing, isn't it? The Bulldogs signed Burton at a time where he had played very little first grade. They signed on potential by Trent Barrett because he had been training and coaching the Panthers all last season, so he knew what potential he had.
"Look, he's on a two-year deal with the Bulldogs that would not be commenced now with what he's worth today if he went on the open market. But that's for a lot of players.
"I can tell you the Panthers are getting much, much cheaper this year. And they probably haven't upgraded him this year for the service that he's given them. So, it's all about a sense of timing. Matt Burton has a bright career ahead of him and money will be the least of his problems going forward."
