I know he had not been tested at the top level in either of these positions, and people may still be 'well look how bad Hayne went', but I think that our long serving winger and former Fullback could be a great 5/8th.
There have been several occasions every season where the natural 'killer' instinct of Burt has shown through and he has either grubbered for himself or teammates, kicked forty twenties or just started an attack out of nowhere.
He has a great kicking game, is as fast as any back in the comp, has no drama with his hands and he has a lot of experience. You can see him on the field talking to the players, you can see the passion and consistency he plays with every week.
He hasnt played in the halves before, but he has played enough games to know what wins and loses them, and maybe having the experienced Burt partnering him, Mortimer may turn it up a notch.
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Look, I dont mind this actually. Morts & Robsons kicking game is crap and I love it when Burt or Hayne come into the middle for a kick on last.
Luke Burt is a winger.
Mate. This would never work. BURT is not defensively capable of doing 20-25 tackles a game and still have enough petrol in the tank to attack effectively. His running game is better suited to finishing off these days and I doubt whether he has the body to be able to break tackles and hold off screaming forwards in the middle section.
Mortimer on the other hand is small but ideally suited to this role and has PLAYED it for most of his senior football life. He will go better in 2011 than he did in 2010.
5/8's need to be naturally strong in defence.
Although Luke burt has the skills to be a 5/8, defensivly he wouldnt be up to the week by week defence.
Been saying this for ages.They wanted this but Ando wouldnt go for it
Very few small five-eighths anymore. Luke struggled defensively at centre and five-eighth is even harder. It's a such a shame he never had a bit more size because he played five-eighth in his junior days and I still remember him carving up in a junior grand final in that position.
But if you wanted Luke more involved you would simply move him to fullback and move Jarryd to six. Those two are the most skillful players in the park and that move would keep the ball in their hands as much as possible. That's still my preferred option for next year.
There's no doubt Burt possesses the skillset to play 5/8th. In attack he would do fine. How do you propose to protect him in defence??
1Eyed is correct in saying that smaller 5/8ths struggle in the NRL these days and Burt has never been a strong defender.
St George just won a comp with Soward at 6, Burt is certainly a better defensive player than the Cat in the Hat.
For years I have thought Burt was under utilised, he is very skillful and has unbelievable instincts in both attack and defence. He may not be the best tackler, but he is always around the ball when defending at the back. I would like to see them try Burt at 1 and Hayne at 6 this year. Hayne is one of the most gifted players I have ever seen, but history shows that he does not have the positional play to fully realise his potential at 1. Imagine Morts feeding Burt and Hayne, with Hayne looking after the long kicking game.
Good idea Simon, Just I think he has missed the boat in this regard (I mean, I believe he could have played 5/8 IF he had started a few year ago and put on some size)..
no. burt is a winger or fullback thats it. think about guys. cmon.
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