COVID rips through Bulldogs with 10 players missing training ahead of Penrith clash

Matt Burton is happy to remain at right centre with Canterbury’s finals hopes on the line, as 10 players miss training with COVID-19 ahead of a must-win clash with Penrith.

The virus began sweeping through the Bulldogs’ Belmore training base ahead of Saturday’s win against St George Illawarra, with the situation worsening on Monday.

The Bulldogs were once again forced to train with a skeleton crew in their first session of the week, having done the same in the lead-up to Round 25.

Burton also had a disrupted preparation for the Dragons game, returning home to Dubbo following his grandmother’s death.

Even with limited training, the 26-year-old was among the Bulldogs’ best in the unfamiliar position of right centre.

Burton has played almost his entire 144-game NRL career on the left, winning the 2021 premiership with Penrith at centre before switching to five-eighth and then centre on the same edge at the Bulldogs.

With Enari Tuala injured and Bronson Xerri better on the left, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo approached Burton during the week to gauge his interest in switching sides against Saints.

“’Ciro’ just put the challenge to me during the week, coming up against (Dragons centre) Val Holmes, he’s a quality player and just sort of put me up against him to see where I was at,” Burton told AAP.

Burton scored two tries in Canterbury’s 44-14 win, boosting the potency of a right edge that already features key men Jacob Preston, Lachie Galvin and Jacob Kiraz.

Realistically, the Bulldogs must defeat second-placed Penrith this week to keep their finals hopes alive, so will hope players can either recover from COVID-19 in time or plough on as they did against the Dragons.

Lining up on the right again would mean marking superstar Casey McLean, but Burton is “100 per cent open” to staying put.

“I really enjoyed it out there, playing outside ‘Presto’ and ‘Galvo’ there. We’ll just keep building that combination if that’s the case,” he said.

The fact Burton played at all last week was impressive to teammates given the recent passing of grandmother Christina.

“It’s a tough time, but the way he played, not only did he get on the field, he was one of our best players,” Kiraz said.