![St John's junior Matt Burton has signed a new deal with the Canterbury Bulldogs. Picture by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images St John's junior Matt Burton has signed a new deal with the Canterbury Bulldogs. Picture by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/dCXpDgwTEgA52iNCe5aWtJ/33d81bf0-ec69-4ce1-9cff-637bcbd591fe.jpg/r0_98_3135_2090_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Matt Burton believes good times are on the way at the Canterbury Bulldogs and that was a major reason behind his new deal with the NRL club.
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The St John's junior was a huge hit during his debut season with the Bulldogs and on Friday it was confirmed he'll be in blue and white for the next five seasons.
A former NRL premiership winner with Penrith, Burton played in every fixture in 2022 and earned NSW and Australian selection as a reward for his form.
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After signing the new deal, Burton hailed the arrival of new coach Cameron Ciradlo - someone he worked with previously at the Panthers - and said there was plenty of reasons for Bulldogs fans to be excited about the future.
"I'm grateful to be a part of this club," the 22-year-old Dubbo star said.
"We've got the new coach in now and I'm really excited to work with him again. He's a great coach and I'm looking forward to taking my game to the next level with his guidance.
"We've got new players in and from my teammates, all the staff, our members and fans, I couldn't picture myself anywhere else. The club is on the up and I'm keen to be a part of this next chapter for the Bulldogs."
Burton's new deal takes him through to the end of the 2027 NRL season.
Given he represented Australia this year at just 22 years of age, the deal is a massive statement from the Bulldogs and comes after rumours had swirled throughout 2022 about Burton's future.
He was named the Bulldogs' Members Player of the Year in 2022 and was part of the Kangaroos squad which won the World Cup in the United Kingdom.
the long-term signing of someone as talented as Matt reinforces the direction that we are headed in
- Bulldogs chairman John Khoury
"Matt has been a wonderful contributor to our club both on and off the field over the past season and we're excited that he'll continue to be a part of our organisation for the years ahead," Bulldogs chairman John Khoury said.
"As a club, we have been building towards a vision of success and stability, and the long-term signing of someone as talented as Matt reinforces the direction that we are headed in.
"He has a great relationship with head coach Cameron Ciraldo and we have only just seen the beginnings of his potential. We are extremely pleased to extend Matt's contract, and this will see him working with Cameron and the Bulldogs for the next five years."
Bulldogs chief executive officer Aaron Warburton said the Dubbo young gun and fan favourite was a great ambassador for the club.
"The coaching staff did a great job last season and with the addition of Cameron this season, we now have a new but familiar coaching staff that is working extremely hard with all our players in the pre-season," Warburton said.
"We believe that we have been taking huge strides forward as a club and this multi-year agreement with Matt means that he will remain to be a big part of the Bulldog's future.
"Having someone of his ability wanting to be part of what we are building here at the Bulldogs is exciting for everyone involved at the club."
Burton this week returned to Bulldogs pre-season alongside fellow World Cup winner Josh Addo-Carr and boom off-season recruit, Viliame Kikau.
Kikau is a former teammate of Burton at Penrith and the barnstorming back-rower was key to the Panthers' run to back-to-back premierships in 2021 and 2022.
The Bulldogs start the new NRL season on Saturday, March 4, against Manly.
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