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Matt Burton Hilariously Pulls Out Of Spectacular Swan Dive Try In Mid-Air

Matt Burton Hilariously Pulls Out Of Spectacular Swan Dive Try In Mid-Air

Fans reckon it's because the Penrith Panthers were recently labelled "arrogant" and "cocky" by rugby league pundits.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

When Penrith Panthers star Matt Burton broke through the Newcastle Knights defensive line, it looked like he was going to score a try by producing a spectacular swan dive.

You know, where players leap high into the air before diving onto the ball?

Well, it looked like Burton was going to do exactly that.

But at the last minute, for one reason or another, he pulled out of the acrobatic move and simply grounded the ball instead.

He was instantly mobbed by his Panthers teammates, but the sheer awkwardness of the try over the replays left everyone scratching their heads a bit.

And then it clicked.

Since the new NRL season began, Penrith have been electric to watch although some of the players have found themselves in the spotlight with rugby league pundits labelling them "arrogant", "classless" and "cocky" following a couple of incidents.

In response, the Panthers wanted to prove their professionalism by simply shaking each other's hands after one of their teammates scored a try.

And it seems Burton is onboard with the idea too with some eagle-eyed rugby league fans suggesting he pulled out of last night's swan dive because he didn't want it to come across as showboating.

If this theory is true, then fair play to him.

But unfortunately for Burton, by the time he realised exactly what he was doing, it was already too little too late.

"If he does it backwards, it's 10 out of 10," Fox League commentator Andrew Voss said.

"He could go in the Olympics in the high jump."

Even Vossy was under the same impression that Burton pulled out of the dive early because he didn't want to look "arrogant" or "cocky".

"He looked like he was about to take off," Voss added.

"Watch this again. He thought 'no no, it's too early in the game, remember we're not arrogant, we just score the try.'

"He was going to launch and then made it a more conventional try."

Featured Image Credit: Fox League

Topics: nrl news, Rugby League, nrl, try, Australia, Newcastle Knights