Phil Gould has revealed New South Wales rookie Matt Burton took an injury into camp ahead of the State of Origin decider.
And it could ultimately open the door for Jack Wighton to make a spectacular comeback and reclaim his spot for the Suncorp Stadium blockbuster on Wednesday night.
Wighton was arguably the Blues’ best player in game one – which they lost – but then caught COVID-19 and was ruled out of the second game in Perth.
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His replacement, Burton, starred in game two and helped NSW to an emphatic victory, forcing the series to a deciding game three in enemy territory.
While Wighton is fit and available for the decider, he has been named as 18th man, with young gun Burton retaining his spot at left centre.
But the talented backline star was on light duties during a training session on Wednesday, leading to speculation he was injured.
Gould – who brought Burton to the Bulldogs this year – confirmed the news on his Wide World of Sports podcast, Six Tackles with Gus.
“I know that Matt Burton is carrying a little calf strain, and from all reports he’s not training today,” Gould said.
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“We informed (Blues coach) Brad Fittler ahead of Origin, (Burton) played with it for the Bulldogs. It’s not anything that held him back.
“We just said to Matt before he went into camp, ‘the coach is well aware of it, don’t be afraid to put your hand up and pull out and rest it. You’ve got 10 days to get ready and make sure you’re 100 per cent for the game’.
“Young blokes will go in there and they won’t say anything, they’ll be reluctant to pull out of a session for fear.
“I rang Brad personally and said, ‘Matty has a little calf thing there, just look after it and he will be fine by game time’.
“But I think that 17 will take the field, and Jack Wighton will play his role as the 18th player.”
Burton himself spoke to 9News in Blues camp, after being spotted sitting out the training session.
“After the weekend’s game it pulled up a bit sore,” he told Nine’s Danny Weidler.
“So (I’ll) rest it up today and it will be good to go (for the game).”
If Burton was to withdraw from game three, Wighton would slot straight back into his left centre position for the Blues.
It would have almost certainly gone to Latrell Mitchell, had the South Sydney livewire not made himself unavailable for Origin selection.
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