St John's junior Matt Burton is preparing for what could be his final NRL game for the Penrith Panthers ahead of their preliminary final clash against Melbourne on Saturday night.
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Coming off a tough win over Parramatta last weekend, the Canterbury-Bulldogs bound Burton told 2GB 873AM he knows the team were pleased just to continue onto the second last game of the season.
"It was a massive game against those guys and it was a real semi-final type game," he said
"We were just happy to come away with the win."
Wellington's Brent Naden has been named to start on the wing but could be a late swap for NSW State of Origin representative Brian To'o who is a chance of returning to the starting 17 after an ankle injury.
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"He has got a couple of tests to do," Burton said of To'o.
"Hopefully we gets through them and he should be right to go."
Penrith and Melbourne have been the two stand-out sides this season but the former have looked fatigued or out of sorts over the last month.
However, Burton knows Penrith can still make a statement in this competition.
"I think there's definitely a lot of improvement left in us," he said.
"But we keep working on it at training.
"It's the little things that'll win us the game."
"Last week we missed a few opportunities there, and we're going to need to execute this weekend against Melbourne."
Much has been made of the fatigue factor for Penrith after the State of Origin period but Burton believes it is not too difficult to get up for a preliminary final.
"There's obviously a few bruises here and there," he said.
"We've recovered well this week and it's on again."
Saturday's match could be the last match at the Panthers for Naden who like Burton is headed to the Bulldogs for 2022.
The winner of Saturday's match will advance to the NRL Grand Final against the victor of South Sydney and Manly which will be played on Friday night.
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