Penrith co-captain Nathan Cleary says he 'feels sorry' for five-eighth Jake Averillo, the man expected to make way for Matt Burton at Canterbury in season 2021.
"The way Matty Burton has gone about things, he's a class act, he's been the best trainer all pre-season, he's never kicked stones, he's come in with a good attitude every day," Cleary said on Tuesday. "[The early release] is constantly brought up.
"Averillo is a good player himself, he's playing five-eighth for the Bulldogs, and he's been a bit hard done by.
"I do feel a bit sorry for him. He's a really good player. We'll have to be on our A-game defending him. It's a situation I'm happy I'm not in."
Burton will join the Bulldogs on a lucrative three-year deal from 2022, but Canterbury want him to make the move immediately, with the Bulldogs deal playing him significantly more.
Burton is stuck behind Cleary and Jarome Luai on the depth chart, where if he was already at Belmore he would certainly be lining up against his teammates in the Bulldogs' clash against Penrith on Saturday at Bankwest Stadium.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said his side is lucky to have a player like Burton at Penrith in the team and he will come in handy if injury occurs, or throughout the Origin season.
"We're in a very lucky position that we have a player there like Burto able to fill a number of spots. He's trained in a number of positions," Nathan Cleary said.
"That's why I want to stick up for him a bit. I don't think he's the one saying these things (about wanting to leave).
"He's a knockabout kind of guy. He doesn't say too much. He puts his head down, he works hard and wants to get better.
"He's been training really well and he played really well on the weekend for the club and he's a very valuable asset to the Penrith football club."
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