By Dan Walsh
If Matt Burton had his way, he’d hoist rainmaking torpedo bombs every time he’d put his left boot to ball.
Opposition fullbacks can thank Cameron Ciraldo for the brief respite, which has seen Canterbury holster one of the game’s most impressive attacking weapons this season in their climb to fifth on the NRL ladder.
Less is proving more for both the Bulldogs and their star five-eighth, who booted a match-winning 36-metre, golden point field goal to sink Cronulla last Friday.
Before nailing his clutch shot, Burton’s booming downtown kicks kept Canterbury in an arm wrestle with the Sharks, who despite several good defensive sets were frustrated in the second half as Burton launched 70-metre punts to square up field position.
A maturing kicking game has been Burton’s latest evolution as a playmaker after Ciraldo urged a more conservative approach to sending bombs up to 33 metres high, as recently measured by this masthead – or 16 Nelson Asofa-Solomonas and one Geoff Toovey in NRL terms.
“It’s definitely hard to pull it back and not do [a torpedo bomb] every time on last tackle,” Burton said ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Warriors.
“I’d love to put one up every tackle. But it’s just picking the right time when I do one. That’s something Ciro [Ciraldo] has spoken about. That’s a development for me.
“Previous years if there was nothing on I’d just put one up and hope for the best. But now I’m picking my time for when it’s right for the team and when is the right time to do it.”
Throughout much of 2023 the Bulldogs found that Burton’s bombs caused havoc for the opposition, but could also result in seven-tackle sets if allowed to bounce given the force the kicks would come back down to earth with.
Champion Data statistics show only a slight downturn in Burton’s use of bombs between 2023 and 2024. The caveat is that his rare ability to launch long-range attacking kicks from further out than any other playmaker challenge what is generally classified as an offensive bomb or a long kick aimed at carving out territory.
Matt Burton has kept his trademark soaring bombs to a minimum throughout Canterbury’s rise up the ladder.Credit: NRL Photos
The difference for Burton - whose 43 metres per kick makes his the longest in the NRL - has been when and how he uses the signature trick shots that the stats don’t differentiate between, namely his floating and torpedo left-foot bombs.
Burton rated his show-stopping bomb against Parramatta two weeks ago – which had Clint Gutherson all at sea – as one of the sweetest he has hit in his career.
But two hefty Burton strikes against the Eels also ended in seven-tackle sets for Parramatta, a pointer to the risk and reward balance Canterbury have weighed up.
A win over the Warriors this weekend could move Canterbury into the top four pending other results, with Toby Sexton partnering Burton in the halves for four wins in their past five games.
Sexton spent six weeks in reserve grade during the middle of the year as Drew Hutchison was preferred at the scrumbase. Since his return Sexton has staked his claim to the No.7 role, a position of constant turnover in recent seasons.
“I got an opportunity to play in reserve grade and really work on my craft,” Sexton said.
“Ciro has been really honest with me on where I’m at, but he kept reassuring me that I’d get a chance at some stage and to be ready.
“Looking back at it now, it’s probably the best thing that’s happened to me … I had 11 weeks to sit back and see how the NRL side was playing.
“It excited me that I knew when I came into the side that I didn’t have to do big plays, it was just a matter of being a voice and bringing the likes of [right-edge players] [Stephen] Crichton and [Jacob] Preston more into the game.”
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