Panthers’ Matt Burton plan to keep the Dogs at bay

Penrith are ready to spend the off-season teaching Matt Burton to play centre and possibly back row in a bid to keep the boom rookie.

Rising Panthers star Matt Burton is in-demand with several clubs

Penrith want to spend the off-season training Matt Burton in a variety of positions as they look to find a place for him in their starting side and convince him to reject big-money offers to stay at the club beyond next season.

Burton is the hottest property in rugby league, able to field concrete offers now that he has entered the final year of his deal. Canterbury have wasted little time in making their intentions known, outlining a deal for the 20-year-old that will super-charge his salary when he comes off contract at the end 2021.

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They won’t be the only club knocking at Burton’s door, although Penrith are digging in for a fight. The Panthers are locked in negotiations with Burton as they attempt to convince him his future lies with them, even though his path to first grade in the halves is blocked by Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary.

Cleary has an iron-clad grip on the No 7 jersey while Luai is viewed as the club’s long-term five-eighth after starring on their march to the grand final. The latter’s camp are expected to step up talks with the Panthers this week over an extension to his deal, which mirrors that of Burton in that it is until the end of 2021.

Luai is expected to recommit for an extended period, meaning Burton’s path to first grade will need to be somewhere other than the halves.

With that in mind, the Panthers want to spend the off-season teaching Burton to play in the centres and potentially the back row, providing him with an alternative path to the NRL side and giving him time to mature as a first grader.

Penrith are facing an increasingly anxious fight to keep their grand final squad together, having already made the decision to let winger Josh Mansour leave in the off-season.

Mansour has another year remaining on his deal but has been told he is free to depart – his name was on the radar of rival clubs last week.

The Wests Tigers could be among the clubs to express an interest in Mansour, although that may be contingent on what happens with Melbourne winger Josh Addo-Carr.

Addo-Carr has signed a heads of agreement to join the Tigers should he be given a release from the Storm but there were suggestions on Monday that he was ready to stay in Melbourne for another year.

That would void the agreement with the Tigers. Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis received an email from Addo-Carr’s management on Monday morning insisting that it was still Addo-Carr’s intention to join the Tigers should he return to Sydney and hit back at claims the club was on the nose with potential recruits.

“We understand that Josh’s intention is subject to a release from Melbourne to return to Sydney,” Hagipantelis said.

“The ball remains fairly and squarely with Melbourne. It seems that every story is somehow brought back to the Wests Tigers in some way, shape or form. The fact is we’re turning things around.”