Stephen Crichton recalls fend from Waqa Blake that drove him to become best defensive centre in NRL
It was a moment that left Stephen Crichton “stung” and “burnt”, but one that moulded him into the star he is today. See how a stiff left-arm from Waqa Blake changed Crichton’s career.
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This was the embarrassing moment which left NSW centre Stephen Crichton “stung, burnt” and questioning whether he wanted to continue playing rugby league.
It was also the palm-off which drove a shattered Crichton into becoming the NRL’s best defensive centre.
And that defence will be vital when Crichton – who has now been elevated into the NSW leadership group – lines up against Queensland superstar Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow next Wednesday night.
Crichton recalled the humiliation of a crucial missed tackle in 2020 and how it pushed him to respect opponents and work doggedly on his defence.
It was round five at CommBank Stadium when Crichton, then a Panther, was easily shoved away by Eels centre Waqa Blake, who scored a try which ultimately gave Parramatta a 16-10 victory.
The following day, Crichton marched into the office of Cameron Ciraldo – then Panthers assistant and now head coach at Canterbury – seeking immediate defensive advice.
“I didn’t want to play anymore. I didn’t want to be in that position ever again,” Crichton said. “Waqa palmed me and scored. They won the game – that’s why it stung so much.
“We were beating them and literally that play, I wasn’t in it. I was palmed and it was the first time I copped criticism from the outside noise and that definitely got to me as well. The comments, reading them, it burnt me so much.
“I took that really personally. It was the first time in my career that I’d let the team down with one missed tackle. I was put on the spot, watching video when the whole team was there and letting the boys down was the biggest thing.
“The reason I was in that position was because I wasn’t doing my homework or doing my tackling (drills) as much as I should have. I wasn’t giving my opponents as much respect as I should have.
“Ciraldo was our defensive coach at the time. I wanted to be the best centre and he wrote down a few things: ‘If you want to be the best centre then you have to do all of these things’.
“He said it will either make me a better player or make you worse because you’re not going to do anything about it. I definitely didn’t want to get worse. After all that, I wanted to do the ‘reps’ (training repetitions).
“After every session now I do one-on-one tackling with someone to get that confidence and actually try to tackle them hard. ‘Bizza’ (former Panther and current NSW teammate Brian To’o) was basically my tackling bag. I would get him to run at me, try and step and palm me.
“After that, I went into games not looking for the ball in attack but looking to be a presence in the defensive line. All those lessons helped me in my game now. I now make sure I do my homework and respect whoever I’m coming up against because they’re there for a reason as well.”
Incredibly, Ciraldo now shows the missed tackle – and how hard Crichton subsequently worked on his defence – as education for emerging Bulldogs centres.
“‘Ciro’ always shows it at Bulldogs training to the younger generation that’s coming through and how fast you can (improve) with the right mindset and right people around you,” Crichton said. “We sit down with the younger centres through the grades and do homework with them.
“I don’t see myself as the best centre because there is still so much improvement left and still so many things I get wrong. It’s a mindset about how you can turn it around and fix things.
“Ever since that day, I go into games with a defensive mindset; to go out and make tackles and make the boys around you feel comfortable. There are a lot of centres that are really good at attack. I’m a massive fan of defence wins games. If I can save a try rather than scoring a try, that’s better.”
Crichton will likely defend at right centre against Tabuai-Fidow.
“‘Hammer’ is one of the best ‘time and space’ players. We have to defend against him as a team, as an edge. Me trying to go out and get him myself will hurt our edge and leave a hole in our line.
“We did a lot of work with the boys today at our training session. We spoke about how we’re going to defend together.
“I don’t go out looking for those big moments. It happens with communication, how the ball is coming and doing homework on the other players, what they’re good at, what they’re bad at, which foot they step off. It takes a lot to make the right read.”
Crichton will probably work alongside Zac Lomax and Mitch Moses on his edge.
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Originally published as Stephen Crichton recalls fend from Waqa Blake that drove him to become best defensive centre in NRL
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