Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton will undergo scans on a hamstring injury, which threatens to deny him a spot on the plane to Las Vegas in just five days’ time.
Burton clutched at his left leg and was treated by medical staff on the sideline at McDonald Jones Stadium before leaving the field in the first half of Saturday’s trial against Newcastle.
He did not return to the game, which Canterbury won 28-0, with off-season recruit Sean O’Sullivan slotting into five-eighth.
Rookie playmaker Mitch Woods is already sidelined with a hamstring injury, and coach Cameron Ciraldo will need to decide if he risks taking Burton to the US on a long-haul flight in the hope he recovers in time for the March 1 opener against St George Illawarra.
The Bulldogs will be the first club to leave for America on Thursday. What cannot be ignored is the fact they have the bye in round two, which would give Burton ample time to recover.
Ciraldo said of Burton’s injury after the game: “If he’s right to play, he’ll play in Vegas. If not, Sean O’Sullivan did a great job for us today. It’s pretty black and white.
“He said it’s not too bad and it feels alright.
“He felt a little something and being a trial, he wanted to get it checked, and we didn’t want to risk it putting him back on.
“Fingers crossed it’s not too bad. He’ll go for scans tomorrow.
“He felt it when he was playing the ball the set before. We saw him grabbing at it, and we told the trainers to get him off. Then he had to make that tackle [on Dominic Young], so he couldn’t have been too bad.”
The Bulldogs were already mindful about having adequate numbers for opposed sessions in the US, and footed the bill for an additional two players to travel.
Ciraldo said there was the chance their playing squad could now balloon to 25.
“We’ll talk about that the next 24 hours, we might be able to do that, and the club have been really supportive with all those things,” Ciraldo said.
There was plenty of talk about Lachie Galvin needing to stand up, especially after the criticism he received following his mid-season move last year, but Ciraldo said the halfback would be more than comfortable running on to Allegiant Stadium alongside Burton or O’Sullivan.
Burton has one of the most devastating left boots in the game, and made headlines on Monday, Super Bowl Day, when he kicked a gridiron off a tee that sailed an unofficial NFL-record of 62 metres.
He scored a try against the Knights, and looked solid defending on the left edge with skipper Stephen Crichton, who looks to have found a new home at left centre after spending the past few seasons at right centre.
‘We’ve got two weeks until Vegas so that’s going to be very important.’
Dylan Brown after Newcastle’s 28-0 defeat
The only other injury concern for the Dogs in the countdown to Vegas is winger Jacob Kiraz, who did not play against the Knights. Ciraldo said he would be on the plane. Leo Thompson will represent the Maori All Stars on Sunday.
As for the Knights, there was a lot of optimism about their club entering a new era with coach Justin Holbrook and $13m man Dylan Brown. There will be healthy selection debate about whether Sandon Smith or Fletcher Sharpe partners Brown in the halves.
It was only a trial, but the Knights were entitled to show so much more, especially when you consider they will also fly to Vegas next weekend for their own hitout against North Queensland.
Even when they looked certain to score, after Greg Marzhew made a break, and back-rower Francis Manuleleua tried to crawl across the line, the Bulldogs turned up in numbers to stop them.
“There’s obviously things that we’re going to need to work on going back to training, but we’ve got two weeks until Vegas so that’s going to be very important,” Brown said.
“It’s awesome [being in Newcastle]. Probably the people is the one thing you notice, everyone is very friendly, everyone’s very welcoming and it’s a good place to be.”
The Knights were missing Kalyn Ponga and Dane Gagai, while Sharpe was a late scratching with a hamstring strain.
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