Cameron Ciraldo brushes off Matt Burton rumours and rules out Josh Addo-Carr

The Bulldogs will be without one of their biggest stars for the trip to the Shire, while coach Cameron Ciraldo urged Matt Burton to get more involved in attack.

Josh Addo-Carr won’t face the Sharks after threatening to pull off a miracle recovery from a shoulder injury. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has confirmed Josh Addo-Carr will not face the Sharks on Friday night due to a shoulder injury, while he also shot down suggestions Matt Burton should be moved to centre to have more of an impact in attack.

Addo-Carr has been dubbed the fastest man on the planet and he threatened to evolve into the world’s quickest healer after he was named on an extended bench just days after the club said he would miss up to a month with an AC joint injury.

The speedy winger trained well on Tuesday but wasn’t able to recover in time, with Connor Tracey to make his Bulldogs debut against his former club.

Josh Addo-Carr came off at half-time against Parramatta and did not return. Picture: NRL Imagery

“He’s done everything possible (but he won’t play). He’s worked 24/7 with the physios to get himself ready, but he’s come up a bit short. He’ll be right next week,” Ciraldo said.

“It is a bit random because we thought it was the AC and the clavicle, but there’s a bit more going on there. He’s done really well to put himself in a position to play, but at the moment it’s not worth the risk.

“He did really well at the start of the week. On Monday there was no chance he was playing, but then on Tuesday morning he was really good and adamant that he was going to be right.

“Yesterday and this morning he wasn’t as good. It’s only round two and we’ve got Connor Tracey there ready to go so it wasn’t worth the risk.”

Cameron Ciraldo has been impressed with Addo-Carr’s efforts to play this week. picture: NRL Photos

Ciraldo praised Addo-Carr’s commitment to return early, and said his relentless approach to training in the pre-season has him primed for his best year as a Bulldog.

“The work that he put in the pre-season helped him be a chance for this weekend,” he said.

“He’s four or five kilos heavier than last year and a hell of a lot fitter.

“He’s done a really good job in the pre-season, and while it’s unfortunate to get a bit of a mishap in round one, there’s a long way to go in the season and he’s going to play a big part in it.

“He’s shown what a professional looks like and he’s really laid the foundation for the younger guys in terms of getting back from injuries.”

The Bulldogs will head into the Cronulla game looking to show more potency in attack after they were held to eight points by a Parramatta side that starved them of possession in the first half.

All eyes have been on Burton, with former Knights star Matthew Johns calling for him to shift from five-eighth to left centre where he won a title with Penrith.

The 24-year-old is part of a lethal left edge at Canterbury but wasn’t able to unleash his running game against the Eels, with Burton limited to mainly putting up bombs.

Matt Burton wasn’t as involved in attack last week as people wanted him to be. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“He’s our five-eighth at the moment,” Ciraldo said.

“Everyone knows Matt is able to play centre, he’s won a grand final there, played rep footy there but he’s also got some really good attributes about his game at five-eighth.

“Last week, he kept us in the game with his kicking game when we were on the back foot. When teams are on the back foot, that’s a really hard thing to do and I think he did a great job of that last week.

“Does he need to get more involved? 100 per cent. When he touches the ball, good things happen and our team benefits from it. So we want to get him in those positions this week.

“He’s working really hard, he’s put himself in those positions at training and we’d like to see it come out tomorrow.

“We all know Matt can be a great centre but I think he’s going to be a great five-eighth as well.”

Originally published as Cameron Ciraldo brushes off Matt Burton rumours and rules out Josh Addo-Carr