Matty Johns has lauded in-form Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton, declaring he’s “never seen anyone” kick the ball like him.
Speaking on Matty & Cronk, Johns heaped praise on the Canterbury pivot, comparing his influence on the game to Ricky Stuart’s in the 1980s.
“Burton and (halfback Lachlan) Galvin were both impressive in their kick combination for totally different reasons,” Johns said.
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“I’ve never seen a bloke hit a ball like Burton.
“I remember Ricky coming in. When he came in, in the late ‘80s, and he revolutionised left to right passes and long torpedoes, he was something else.
“This bloke, I’ve never seen anyone hit a ball like it.”
Johns believes Burton looks more comfortable as a player in 2025 than he did previously.
“Just on Burton. His improvement in the last 12 months in that six jersey,” Johns said.
“Last year, you could see that the number on his jersey weighed heavily on him.
“He was thinking, you know, do I steer the side? What do I do?
“And he built his game, going forward, bit by bit.
“Look up, if I like what I see, I’m going to attack them, if I don’t, I’m going to give it to Viliame (Kikau) early.
“You can see from there he’s just built his game and at the moment he’s firing.”
Cronk said Burton’s long kicking game, together with Galvin’s short kicking game, is providing the Bulldogs with a lethal combination.
“They’ve got good balance,” Cronk said.
“Because you know that Burton can launch from the yardage and have that long kicking dominance.
“And what Galvin can do with the short form of it.
“Their ability just to play the right play at the right time.
“I’m really impressed with what Burton’s done this year.
“His best year by a country mile.
“He is knocking on the door of the rep jersey with number six every time he keeps playing.
“He also knows when to use his strengths around him, you’ve got Bronson Xerri, Kikau.”
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Cronk also believes Galvin has added another dimension to the Bulldogs’ attack.
“The thing that Galvin’s bought is he knows when to get the ball to (Stephen) Crichton at the right time,” Cronk added.
“So now he’s got (Jacob) Preston, Crichton on the right, you’ve got Kikau and Xerri on the left, and those halves are doing a good job.”
