Snubbed Matt Burton sends Laurie Daley a clear message as Dogs down Storm

Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton sent a clear message to NSW coach Laurie Daley on Friday night after he was snubbed for the State of Origin opener, starring as Canterbury ran down Melbourne for a desperately needed win.

Another former Blues star, Storm enforcer Stefano Utoikamanu, was at the centre of attention when he got in a heated scuffle with Bulldogs back-rower Sitili Tupouniua with a minute left in the game.

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Overlooked for next Wednesday night's Origin opener at Accor Stadium, Burton chalked up 252 metres from 19 carries, made two line breaks, busted out of seven tackles and racked up 341 kick metres.

His combination with strike centre Bronson Xerri on the left side of the field was dynamite.

Xerri hammered out 239 metres from 20 runs and made a whopping 13 tackle breaks. He also made two line breaks and set up a try.

Burton played two games for NSW in 2022 but has not featured in Origin since.

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He would make for a strong bench utility in the game's toughest arena but Daley instead opted to pick Raiders young gun Ethan Strange on the six-man bench.

"That left-side attack tonight, Burton and Bronson Xerri, tore Melbourne part," Andrew Johns said on Nine.

Burton claimed Nine's man-of-the-match award.

"I feel like it clicked tonight and that just unlocked me and I could just run the footy," the star five-eighth told Nine.

"And I thought Bronson was outstanding on the left edge, as well. Give him early ball and you can see what he can do.

"I thought everyone was outstanding tonight, and as I said before, it's just good to get the win."

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo spoke highly of Burton's game in his post-match press conference.

"When Burton plays like that we win a lot of games," Ciraldo said.

The Dogs snapped a five-game losing streak to breathe life into their season, though the win came at a cost with back-rower Jacob Preston suffering a suspected broken arm.

The Storm jumped out to a 12-0 lead and they led 18-6 at half-time, but as Canterbury piled on four tries in the second half all Melbourne could manage was a penalty goal.

"We've obviously been building that for a couple of weeks; it just hasn't shown on the scoreboard," Burton said.

"But we've been coming into training every day and ripping in for each other. It was bound to click and tonight we found our groove."

Utoikamanu's frustration spilled over when he clashed with Tupouniua as he tackled him with a minute to go.

The two enforcers got in a fiery-tempered rumble and players from both sides raced in, but the niggle was quick to peter out.