Bulldogs star on stand-by after NSW’s injury scare

Jasper Bruce |

Matt Burton will link up with NSW’s State of Origin squad ahead of a high-stakes game three.
Matt Burton will link up with NSW’s State of Origin squad ahead of a high-stakes game three.

Canterbury utility Matt Burton is on stand-by to replace NSW playmaker Ethan Strange in the State of Origin decider and will fly into camp on the state’s far north coast.

The Blues have not yet made a decision on the availability of bench player Strange, who remains a chance to recover from a rolled ankle for Wednesday’s game at Suncorp Stadium.

Some Blues players travelled to Byron Bay on their day off on Friday, but Strange stayed at the team hotel in Kingscliff to rest the injury he suffered at training the day before.

The Blues will next train on Saturday morning and are prepared to give Strange more time to shake off his injury.

Staff insist it is too early to determine whether the 21-year-old will need to miss the decider.

Ethan Strange durin
The Blues are hopeful Strange could still feature in the Origin decider. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

With the Bulldogs on a bye, three-time Blues representative Burton is set to train with the team in Strange’s place over the coming days.

The Blues would need to seek an exemption from the NRL to officially add Burton to their 20-man squad.

But this is considered a formality, with the team drafting Jack Bostock into their game-day team when Casey McLean went down during camp for game two.

Isaiya Katoa would likely have been called into camp, having been on stand-by when five-eighth Mitch Moses was battling a hamstring issue ahead of game two.

But the Dolphins halfback is now unavailable with the arm injury he suffered in last week’s defeat of the Warriors.

Noted for his towering kicks, Burton covers centre and the halves to equal acclaim.

He has played the majority of his Bulldogs career in the halves and won the 2021 premiership with Penrith at centre.

Even if fit, Strange is not guaranteed to feature in Brisbane, given only four of six bench players can be deployed on game day.

The Blues erred by not using a back-up hooker in their big game-two loss, and in-form bench players Cam Murray and Haumole Olakau’atu both appear likely to earn game time.

Strange was excellent on Origin debut in NSW’s game-one win then played a cameo off the bench in the 44-24 loss at the MCG.

AAP