Barrett, the former assistant coach of the Panthers moved to Belmore to become the head coach of the Bulldogs and attempted to lure several young Penrith stars with him.

While many players including Charlie Staines, Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu chose to re-sign with the Panthers, Dubbo junior Matt Burton opted to move to the Bulldogs at the beginning of 2022 with Barrett keen on getting the playmaker across to the club early.

However, the Panthers won't allow Burton's early release, with the club stating they will not release the young gun easily.

Burton's move to the Bulldogs has led to some media outlets labelling this weekend's match the 'Matty Burton Cup'.

READ ALSO:

Another Dubbo junior and Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo told NRL.com he holds no ill feelings towards Barrett ahead of the game.

"I think it's more the board [doing the talking] with all the Burto stuff," Yeo said on Tuesday.

"As players, it's no grudge match whatsoever. Everyone respects him [Barrett] in the building and had a really good relationship with him.

"He's a really good bloke, I can't rap him enough. He helped me a lot last year."

Yeo feels that an early move for Burton is unlikely due to what he can offer to the side.

"He's going to be an important part of our team at some point this year," Yeo said of Burton.

"I'm happy he's contracted with us for another 12 months and then after that, he gets a great opportunity over there.

"There's a lot of noise surrounding it but he's handled it really well. You wouldn't be able to tell at training [he's bothered], he's putting his best foot forward there and he played well on the weekend. That's all you can ask."

Playing in the NSW Cup, Burton scored a try and had a hand in setting up two more in his sides 36-26 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Burton is unlikely to feature in the Panthers starting 17 unless an injury occurs to either Jarome Luai or co-captain Nathan Cleary.

Cleary echoed Yeo's statements and also praised Burton's efforts throughout pre-season and trial games.

"He's never kicked stones and comes in with a good attitude every day," Cleary said.

"He's been a bit hard done by [with the attention] in some aspect but it's just something you've got to deal with.

Burton has been named on an extended bench for this weekend's match against the Bulldogs and will start in the NSW Cup at five-eighth against Mounties at Bankwest Stadium before the NRL game.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: