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Sport Nation
Burton stars and named for Blues in Galvin's Bulldogs debut
Sam Kosack • June 9th, 2025 8:45 pm
Matt Burton has starred in a King’s Birthday clash classic against the Parramatta Eels, walking away 30-12 victors in Lachlan Galvin’s debut for the club.
Burton’s form has rewarded him with a spot in the NSW squad for Game II, named 18th man for the Blues.
His absence from the Bulldogs’ team next week means Galvin will likely start at five-eighth, partnering Toby Sexton in the halves.
From the second Galvin’s transfer to the Bulldogs was confirmed, all attention was squarely focused on his role within the team.
Given mounting pressure on key spine members and the Bulldogs’ current mortgage on top of the ladder, where Galvin would play on the field and how many minutes was a mystery coming into game day, only furthered by his initial inclusion on the extended bench.
Wearing jersey 23, Galvin poetically entered the contest with 23 minutes remaining and provided an immediate influence on the attack of the Bulldogs.
Coming on at halfback, with Sexton replacing Mahoney at hooker, Galvin soon played a role in Viliame Kikau’s 60th minute try, offering Bulldogs fans their first look at their club’s future.
It wasn’t long after that Galvin scored a try of his own, cheered on by his new teammates and just shy of 60,000 diehard fans.
“For the boys to sticking in there for the first 60 minutes and come away with a win like that is quite amazing,” Galvin said post-game on SEN League.
“Full credit to the boys, I just came on in the last 20 and finished it off but they stuck in there.
“That’s the team the Doggies are, and It’s been an amazing week and they’ve all got behind me and I’m loving every minute of it.
“Whatever Ciro wants and whatever the team needs I’ll do. I’m learning it all pretty quickly… I’m just going to fit in wherever Ciro tells me.
“I just love playing the game and in front of fans like this… I just want to keep enjoying it, keep the smile on my face and if we keep getting awesome wins like that, the crowd’s only going to get better and it’s going to be an incredible year.”
But while all the media centred around Galvin, it was the Bulldogs’ five-eighth that was the standout in the King’s Birthday classic.
Burton kicked off the entertainment with an incredible intercept try. Like a thief in the night, he pinched a pass out the back of the scrum, running 60 metres against the momentum to score the opener, before playing integral role in leading his team to four more.
Post-game, Burton told SEN League his side’s belief to get the result never wavered.
“We’re not looking too far ahead, we’re just taking it week by week and focusing on every week,” Burton said.
“We’ve definitely got a lot to improve on, and we’ll take a lot of lessons out of that and move forward. This is only the start for us.
“We got back into our footy and played the way we wanted to play and knew the result would come off.
“I think (Galvin’s) been outstanding ever since he‘s come in and he’s only going to get better as he grows up. It was great for him to get a try on debut, and he’s been working his backside off all week, so he deserves it.”
