Canterbury are plotting an aerial raid on Tommy Trbojevic in a bid to nullify the returning superstar's inevitable impact in their season-opening battle with Manly.
Trbojevic is making his much-anticipated comeback from shoulder surgery after being sidelined since round 11 of the 2022 NRL season.
The Bulldogs are bracing for his brilliance with ball in hand but plan to make life as difficult as possible for the 2021 Dally M Medallist at 4 Pines Park.
Five-eighth Matt Burton's towering kicking game was already the envy of every playmaker in the competition, and the NSW State of Origin and Australia Test star is claiming to have found even more height in the off-season.
"I've launched a few so you'll probably see some on the weekend," Burton said on Thursday.
That spells trouble even for the rangy and assured Trbojevic.
"You kind of just look up, spot the ball, close your eyes and put your hands out and hope for the best pretty much," Trbojevic's opposing fullback Hayze Perham said.
"That's my go-to with Burto's balls anyway."
Perham said no one comes close to Burton's ability to unnerve opposition players with his swirling high kicks.
"In training, we ask him for certain torpedoes, spirals over-the-tops and he's able to kick every single one every single time no matter what we ask of him, so it's a special talent," he said.
"The kicking game is huge in today's game especially, so the way that he can produce that for us it's a huge advantage for our team."
Canterbury centre Jake Averillo offered a "good luck" to Trbojevic trying to defuse Burton's bombs.
"Seriously, you can't really practise for it because you'd have to be catching his kicks. He's probably the only person that can do those kicks so good luck to (Trbojevic)," Averillo said.
"There's something about them. Just the way the ball moves in the air. You can be standing here and it lands over there and you don't even get close to it.
"So I'd hate to be playing fullback against him. Glad he plays on our team."
Averillo said the Bulldogs had hatched a game plan with a heavy focus on unsettling Trbojevic.
"Everyone knows what he can do. It's just taking his time and space away from him and limiting his effect on the game."
The match marks Cameron Ciraldo's first outing as Canterbury coach after the former Penrith assistant opted to reunite with ex-Panther Burton at the Bulldogs.
"There's definitely a strong connection building here and I feel that's important in going far in the competition," Burton said.
