Penrith officials say they harbour no ill-will towards Trent Barrett
Penrith prepare for game against former coach Trent Barrett by insisting Matt Burton has no hope of early release to Bulldogs.
Penrith powerbrokers say they harbour no ill-will towards Trent Barrett but have used their impending date with their former assistant coach to reiterate that he will have to wait until next year to get his hands on Matt Burton.
Barrett’s bow as Canterbury coach culminated in a hefty defeat at the hands of Newcastle in round one and the job doesn’t get any easier this weekend as he leads the Bulldogs into battle against in-form Penrith at Bankwest Stadium.
Barrett was a crucial part of the Panthers’ brains trust that led Penrith to last year’s grand final but there has been talk since that all is not well between the Bulldogs coach and his former club given the nature of his departure.
Canterbury have also deliberately targeted Penrith players on Barrett’s watch — they have signed Jack Hetherington and Burton, the latter for 2022. The Bulldogs also chased Spencer Leniu and were linked with Steve Crichton.
“Never heard of him,” Penrith chief executive Brian Fletcher quipped when asked about Barrett.
“We’ll just go there and hope we can beat them, no use going there and worrying about anything else. We just get on with it.
“We have a job to do and hopefully we are able to do it. It’s all over.”
Penrith chair Dave O’Neill added: “I don’t have a problem with Trent. I wish the Bulldogs all the best. The Bulldogs are going down their path and we are going down our path.
“I don’t know about the football club side of it but from my side, I don’t have any problem with the Bulldogs. I haven’t spoken to him (Barrett) or seen him since the grand final.
“There are no sour grapes.”
The Bulldogs could sorely do with Burton on the evidence of their season opener. While halfback Kyle Flanagan was outstanding, five-eighth Jake Averillo was anonymous as the Bulldogs crashed at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Burton’s agent David Riolo has publicly agitated for his client to be given an early release but as it stands, Burton will be going nowhere even though his path to first grade at Penrith is blocked by Jarome Luai.
Burton played solidly in Canterbury Cup at the weekend and Penrith officials insist he is in no hurry to leave the club.
“I chair the (recruitment) meetings and I have never had a discussion about Matt Burton going early,” O’Neill said.
“I walked in the ground with the kid yesterday and he was chirpy — all he wanted to do was play football. He seemed in a good headspace.
“I think it is all noise.”
There had been talk that the Panthers could look to release Burton after the two sides meeting this weekend. That was dismissed by O’Neill and Fletcher.
“It’s been going on for three months,” Fletcher said.
“I didn’t sign the contract, his manager did. He still has a year to go. We have the State of Origin period to go through and injuries.
“Why would we want to weaken our chances. It doesn’t make sense. It would be a bad business decision. He is happy as Larry.”
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