Matt Burton showed with his phenomenal running game in Sunday’s thumping 42-4 win over Manly why the rampaging Bulldogs five-eighth can be as big a threat in the race for this year’s NRL premiership as Cameron Munster is to Melbourne.

Think about the great big-bodied running No 6s over the last 30 years and the likes of Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley and Trent Barrett spring to mind, while Munster at 185cm and 89kg is the standout in the modern game.

Yet at 190cm and 96kg, Burton is bigger and heavier than the lot of them, with just as much speed to burn.

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Burton terrorised the Sea Eagles, finishing with 13 runs for a phenomenal 217m that included 10 tackle busts, two linebreaks, one linebreak assist and two try assists.

His monster kicking game was also on show, while there is also his developing ability as a playmaker who is more than capable of taking charge of the team.

It’s the reason I believe Burton is now even more important to the Bulldogs than inspirational skipper Stephen Crichton.

In no way is that meant to downplay the impact Crichton’s leadership has had on the Bulldogs’ coming of age.

Yet playing on the ball gives Burton the advantage of taking any game by the scruff of the neck at any moment he chooses.

And for all the hype that will greet Lachlan Galvin in his return grudge match against Wests Tigers this Sunday, the showdown between the two five-eighths is the one I’m looking forward to most.

Burton won’t need reminding that Jarome Luai was selected ahead of him as the replacement five-eighth for this year’s Origin series after Mitchell Moses was ruled out following game one.

At the time many thought Burton’s form warranted selection.

But Laurie Daley opted for Luai’s past connection with Nathan Cleary instead of reopening the door for Burton to get another crack in the game’s toughest arena.

While Burton has been selected numerous times as the Blues’ 18th man, he has only ever got to play two Origins back in 2022 when he was selected in the centres.

Unfortunately for Burton, the painful highlight to come out of that series was when Dane Gagai unloaded a flurry of punches on him in back play as Burton copped a serious dose of Queensland’s Origin passion.

Yet Burton’s performance in the win over the Sea Eagles showed why the days of him being bullied are long gone.

It not only highlighted what the Blues were missing this year, but what a serious threat Burton can now we he goes into a game with a run-first mentality.

And while his new halves partnership with Galvin is only going to get better the more time they play together, there is absolutely no doubt who is going to be the Bulldogs’ biggest trump card as the race to the finals heats up.

Throw in the fact the Tigers are paying Luai $1.2 million a season while Burton is on a contract worth only $750,000 at the Dogs, the same as Galvin will be reportedly earning next season.

I don’t think there is any doubt who warrants the biggest pay packet on their current form.

While there is a stack of legitimate excuses as to why Luai has been struggling to take the Tigers to the next level, Burton has now done his playmaking apprenticeship and looks primed for a big finish to the season.

All he needs to do is continue what he did against the Sea Eagles on the weekend and the Bulldogs’ premiership hopes will continue to soar.

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TALKING POINTS: The ‘plan’ for Broncos’ Walsh problem; big ‘what if’ in Eels rebuild

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WALSH’S ROCKS AND DIAMONDS COSTLY FOR BRONCS

Reece Walsh needs to narrow the gap between his best and worst performances if the Broncos are to have any hope of going deep into the finals.

While Walsh’s return from injury has been the springboard for the Broncos’ resurgence over the last six weeks, the thrill-a-minute fullback showed in Friday night’s shock 22-20 loss to the Mitchell Moses-inspired Eels how his rocks and diamonds efforts can just as easily bring the Broncos crashing back to earth.

Walsh again had moments of brilliance against the Eels and almost stole the game at the death with a potentially match-winning try only to have been ruled offside.

But he also came under fire after the game after coming up with a few other costly errors.

When Walsh is on fire his gunslinger attitude is what makes him so unique and so dangerous.

But then you get games like this one where he pushes the envelope too far, and his team ends up paying the price for his lack of patience.

As skipper Adam Reynolds said after the game, it’s a fine line because the last thing you’d want to see is Walsh lose that desire to want to be the man to come up with the magical play.

“We all love what Walshy brings,’ Reynolds said.

“He is an excitement machine and he is a big part of our team and a big reason why we are where we are.

“You don’t want to take that away from him, but it’s my responsibility to calm him down at times when he gets a bit sideways.”

It’s worth pointing out that even though Walsh is still only 23 he’s already had 86 NRL games.

So you’d think that’s ample time for him to learn what it means to put the team first without too much prompting from Reynolds.

But unless the Broncos rein him in to some degree it could end up being their undoing.

While I’m not ready to put the pen through the Broncos’ title chances, the loss to the Eels is a huge blow given it virtually ends their top four hopes.

It means they stay on 26 points and probably still need to win three of their remaining six games just to make the top eight.

While they’d have to probably win all six games to finish top four given the Warriors are still two wins ahead of them on 30 points and the Panthers are fifth on 27 points.

Their last six games are against the Rabbitohs this round followed by the Storm, Dolphins, Knights, Cowboys and Storm again in the final round.

MAGIC MOSES REMINDS EELS WHAT THEY’VE MISSED

As for Mitch Moses’ return, what a performance.

It again showed what the Eels have been missing for most of this year, and why their fans have every reason to look forward to a brighter 2026.

If Moses had been fit for the majority of the season I have no doubt the Eels would be playing finals.

We also may have had a different result in the Origin series.

PLANETS ALIGNING FOR PANTHERS FIVE-PEAT

I said it last week and I’ll say it again, the Panthers are the team to beat after making it seven straight wins with a comprehensive 36-2 thumping of the Wests Tigers.

Throw in the fact the Storm have lost Jahrome Hughes to a shoulder injury that is likely to rule the reigning Dally M Player of the Year out for the final six rounds.

Not only are the big guns Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin back and firing, but younger players like Casey McLean, Blaize Talagi and Tom Jenkins are getting more and more confident by the week.

The no-look pass Talagi threw for Jenkins’ late try just highlighted his unbelievable talent, and how he has now well and truly stepped up to fill the void left by Jarome Luai’s exit.

It’s also worth noting over their six-match winning run the Panthers have conceded a total of 60 points (an average of 10 a game) while they’ve scored 152 (an average of 25.3).

That’s premiership winning numbers right there.

They now face the Titans and the Knights followed by the Storm, Raiders and Bulldogs in succession, before their final round game against the Dragons.

We’ll get a better indication of exactly where they sit after they face the top three teams.

But with every week that passes their hopes of winning five straight titles looks more and more within their grasp.

‘LUDICROUS’ WIGHTON CALL SUMS UP BUNNIES’ LUCK

When your luck’s out, your luck’s out.

And right now the poor old South Sydney Rabbitohs just can’t take a trick.

I couldn’t believe that Jack Wighton was sin binned in the first place for a so-called shoulder charge that looked like nothing more than a head clash.

But to find out Wighton is now facing a three-to-four week ban for the tackle is just ludicrous.

You go back and look at that tackle and it was clear Wighton was wrong-footed just before impact when Toby Rudolf stepped to his right.

Then over the course of the weekend there were a stack of other shoulder charges that didn’t warrant the sin bin.

On top of that Souths were hammered 10-2 in the penalty count by referee Belinda Sharpe. The Sharks also got five restarts to one.

Then the game is decided by a try to Blayke Brailey where the Sharks hooker looked to have knocked on as he grounded the ball.

No doubt the Bunnies got lucky when Tavita Tatola had a late try awarded when he appeared to ground the ball short.

But that was always going to be difficult for the Bunker to overturn given Sharpe initially awarded the try — and the replays were impossible to overturn.

Yet you watch that Brailey put down and every time it looks a clear knock on.

How Wayne Bennett bit his tongue after the game I’ll never know.

Given the $6 million of Souths talent sidelined for the game, it was one of the gutsiest performances of the season to get as close as they did to the Sharks.

As for Cronulla, that only creates more doubts about their premiership credentials given the 58-42 per cent split of possession, and the fact they had 107 to 22 tackles inside the opposition half.

GREEN MACHINE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

Controversy aside, the Raiders’ showed yet again why they are deserving of top spot on the NRL ladder.

Sure, they got lucky for two dubious tries awarded in the 44-18 win where I thought the Knights were robbed by clear obstructions.

But that still makes it nine straight wins for the Green Machine.

Even allowing for a little luck along the way, only the great teams ever stack up that many consecutive wins.

Not even the most diehard Canberra fans could have dreamed this possible at the start of the season.