Mark O'Meley has tried to play down some of the hype around Matthew Burton following the scintillating showing from the St John's junior in the under 20s State of Origin.
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The Dubbo junior produced a man of the match effort in last week's 36-10 win over Queensland, running in two tries while being heavily involved in everything good the O'Meley-coached Blues did at ANZ Stadium.
That led a number of high-profile figures, including former Blues and Kangaroos star Steve Roach, to state Burton is not too far off an NRL debut with the Penrith Panthers.
And while O'Meley was hugely impressed with the Dubbo product, he was also keen to temper expectations.
"I don't like putting pressure on kids but he certainly is going to have the best opportunity to make it now," O'Meley said while at Dubbo for a NSWRL academy session on Thursday.
"Whether or not he does, there's a lot of different scenarios in rugby league. Things like injuries and different coaches with different opinions, but he's certainly in good stead to progress through to the NRL."
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Burton wasn't initially part of the Blues squad but after an injury to Canterbury young gun Brandon Wakeham, someone who has already progressed to the NRL, was called in.
Coach O'Meley found him quiet around the camp but that wasn't criticism, as he knew the five-eighth was soaking in every bit of information which came his way.
He proved that was the case come game time, with his running and kicking games of particular note in an eye-catching all-round performance.
"He was outstanding," O'Meley said.
"We gave him a couple of goals to do and he wrote them down and certainly did it in the game, the more technical side rather than the inspirational side.
"The technical side was why he was so good, he squared up and engaged defenders and created opportunities. He was very impressive."
He certainly is going to have the best opportunity to make it.
- Mark O'Meley on Matt Burton's NRL chances
The win was an important one for the Blues as they regained Origin bragging rights after losing to the Maroons the year before for the first time since the junior rivalry began in 2012.
It was also one of O'Meley's first coaching roles and his passion for the role was clear when observing him around close to 50 young players during the academy session at Apex Oval on Thursday.
The Origin coaching role was something the former Bulldogs and Roosters star loved, with a focus as much off the field as on it.
"It's awesome. You don't have to coach them," he said.
"You teach them responsibility and accountability and you teach them to make choices on the field and most of the time they're right."