‘Don’t care’: Crichton goes from mentor to tormentor
Jasper Bruce |
Angus Crichton will flick the switch from mentor to tormentor in the State of Origin series opener, pledging to help NSW attack his Sydney Roosters teammate Robert Toia.
Toia shot to fame this week, earning selection for Queensland after only 10 NRL games, but Crichton has known the softly-spoken 20-year-old for upwards of three years.
Anyone in the Roosters’ squad will say Crichton is the first to both take younger players under his wing and rally around teammates in times of trouble.
There’s been plenty of those for centre Toia, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament twice and broke his jaw all before his 20th birthday.
Toia completed his first ACL recovery in and around the NRL squad in 2022, with Crichton getting to know his calibre as an athlete and person through the setbacks.
“He’s a good kid with a good head on his shoulders,” Crichton said.
“He’s an athlete, he fancies himself as a bit of an NFL running back. He’s got that build and that explosive power.
“I don’t have a bad word to say about him.”
But on Wednesday, Toia becomes the least-experienced Maroons debutant since Ben Ikin in 1995.
Blues second-rower Crichton will line up on Mitch Moses’ left edge, putting him on a collision course with Toia, who looks set to play as Queensland’s right centre.
It won’t faze Crichton to have to conspire with Blues centre Latrell Mitchell to exploit his buddy’s inexperience under the bright Suncorp Stadium lights.
“I don’t care at all,” he said.
“I’m mates with Chez (Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans) as well, Lindsay (Collins), Patty (Carrigan), all of them. But it’s pretty easy when you’re playing State of Origin to put that aside for 80 minutes.
“I’m tight with Bobby and I’m so proud of him and so stoked for him but I won’t be holding back on him, for sure.
“We’ll definitely be attacking him.”
Torrential downpour in NSW meant the Blues needed to relocate Saturday’s training session from their waterlogged camp in the Blue Mountains to Penrith’s NRL facilities, 42km east.
Payne Haas warmed up separately from his teammates as he manages a quadriceps injury and was not scheduled to participate in contact drills at the Blues’ biggest session of their camp yet.
NSW officials remain confident barnstorming prop Haas will play the series opener, with Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu on stand-by in case of emergency.
“(Haas) is a true pro with the way he goes about his preparation. I’m backing him in to be ready,” Crichton said.
Saturday’s session represented a sliding doors moment for Crichton, who could well have been training at the Panthers’ facilities full-time this year but for a twist of fate.
Penrith had been interested in signing Crichton for 2025 before rival second-rower David Fifita backflipped on an agreement to join the Roosters, paving the way for Crichton to stay put.
Crichton can now smile about the near-miss, training on the grounds of the club that courted him.
“It’s crazy,” he said.
“It’s a world-class facility, it’s nice to get a bit of good weather and a bit of a dry track for us to make sure we can really attack this session and make sure we’re fit and firing for Monday.”
AAP
