NRL 2021: Angus Crichton talks contracts and billing Boyd’s boots at the Roosters
He’s the off-contract star in every club’s crosshairs but there’s little chance Angus Crichton will leave the Chooks, Paul Crawley tells why.
NRL
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He is one of the NRL’s most in demand forwards coming off contract this season.
But just months after the Sydney Roosters were called out shopping Angus Crichton to rival clubs, the powerhouse backrower has vowed: “I don’t want to leave”.
And Crichton says he now wants to lock up his future at Bondi “ASAP” as he looks to fill the massive hole left by Boyd Cordner.
This comes as one rival club source told The Daily Telegraph this week that Crichton was offered to his club late last season, around the time the Roosters were trying to free up salary cap space to sign Joseph Suaalii.
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The suggestion was the Roosters would have been prepared to let Crichton go for the final season of his current deal, but it all amounted to nothing when Cordner suffered his latest concussion during State of Origin.
Now Crichton, 25, has not only emerged as one of the NRL’s most wanted men after finishing Origin as arguably the Blues’ best backrower, but he is even more important to the Roosters’ premiership aspirations with Cordner sidelined.
Though there is talk Crichton may still need to cop a pay cut to stay.
“Is it?” Crichton joked of the “hair cut” speculation.
“I haven’t heard that.
“We are still sorting through that.
“I would love to get it sorted ASAP. Things like this can take time.”
When asked if he had a tough choice to make given the demand he is in, Crichton was clear: “Not at all for me. I’d love to stay.
“I have really loved my time here at the Roosters. Love the club, love the people, the coaches, the staff, the players, everyone.
“It is a great set up and I don’t want to leave.”
Crichton also believes the Roosters’ uncompromising style of footy has made him a better player and a better person.
“I have got a really good understanding of the kind of football player I want to be and the kind of man I want to be,” he added.
“I think when you have that understanding of what you want out of yourself it allows you to be able to play to your potential.
“Obviously you want to do things the right way. Work hard, play hard and play fair. And I think the style of football the Roosters play, it forces you to go and do that.
“It is a tough brand of footy to play as a back rower.
“Looking from the outside in I didn’t really understand it that well until I came here and it took me a while to adjust to it.
“But I think it is a really rewarding style of football.”
With Cordner’s extended absence, what was also interesting to note in the Roosters’ trial match against Canberra was that Crichton had moved to take over Cordner’s place on the left edge with Sitili Tupouniua playing on the right.
It perhaps suggests that the Roosters are looking to make Crichton’s time on the left not a short stay, although coach Trent Robinson said this week that Cordner would play again this season.
Asked if he preferred playing left or right, Crichton said: “It doesn’t faze me too much. As long as I’m on the field, as long as I’m playing back row I’m pretty happy.
“I think it is a good opportunity and wearing Boydo’s jersey for a few weeks is not something I take lightly.”
TEAMMATES BELT ONE WEAKNESS OUT OF PRODIGY
Being trampled at training by a rampaging Crichton for the past year and a half has Sydney Roosters young gun Sam Walker convinced he is ready to tackle anything that comes his way.
With the ball in his hands, the 18-year-old excitement machine showed in his first top-grade appearance against Canberra on the weekend that the raps about him being one of the most talented young halves to emerge in years are spot-on.
But his slight frame has some concerned he may not be ready for the defensive responsibilities that go with playing in the NRL.
One man who does not doubt Walker’s physicality is arguably the NRL’s toughest player to tackle.
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“He has come a long way since he first came here,” Crichton said of his young teammate.
“At the start (of last year) he was a bit lighter and a bit more cautious and I guess a bit more timid. But now he is not holding back at all and he is launching at me.”
Which is why Walker was extra happy when he travelled to the game in Canberra with Crichton last Saturday.
“We drove to Canberra together and he was pumped because he didn’t have to tackle me and he got to tackle someone else,” Crichton joked.
“He has had me, Boydo (Cordner) and Sitili (Tupouniua) flying at him for the last year and a half (so he is ready).”
Walker said: “I was sick of tackling Gussy at training. He is the hardest person to tackle, ever. It was good to get a different body in front of me.”
Walker’s trial performance was one of the most impressive by a young half in years and had many wondering what dilemma it would create for Roosters coach Trent Robinson before round one.
Robinson has said Lachlan Lam has done enough to secure first shot at being Luke Keary’s halves partner this year.
And Lam was super impressive when he teamed up with Walker in the halves against the Raiders, helping to set up two classy tries in the injured Keary’s absence.
But the hype surrounding Walker appears justified, although this time last year Walker said he was struggling living so far away from his family in Brisbane.
While he was alone in Sydney, isolated during COVID and living in the NRL bubble, Walker lost 7kg “and I didn’t have 7kg to lose”.
However, Walker said he had emerged even stronger and more mentally ready for the challenge ahead.
Meanwhile, the off contract Crichton also opened up about why he wants to settle his future with the Roosters “ASAP”.
Crichton finished last year as probably the game’s form backrower but his only intention is staying exactly where he is.
Roosters can’t relax as rising star turns heads
The Sydney Roosters have been assured that young gun Sam Walker has no intention of using his exceptional arrival on the NRL scene as ammunition to spark a contract bidding war with rival clubs.
But privately the Roosters are still preparing to fast-track negotiations with the off-contract Queensland halfback in the coming weeks as momentum builds for a second Brisbane team in 2023.
As much as the hype has been justified about Joseph Suaalii’s two-try effort playing NSW Cup for North Sydney Bears, Walker’s performance when coming on in the NRL trial against Canberra Raiders was phenomenal for a teenager who was playing his first competitive game since September 2019.
Whether it was his bullet-like passes, his confidence, class and composure, or his speed and energy when running the ball, Walker had good judges across the game dropping their jaws in disbelief.
And while Trent Robinson has already stated that Lachlan Lam has the inside running to partner Luke Keary in the halves this season, Walker was so impressive that it must surely create a selection dilemma going into the opening round.
But the other issue that the Roosters want to put to bed relates to Walker’s future.
Of course, his performance on Saturday will only make the former Ipswich Grammar student an even bigger target for rivals, especially with a new Brisbane franchise expected to get the green light for 2023.
But Walker’s agent Clinton Schifcofske was adamant Walker and his parents have shown no desire to leave the Roosters.
“He just wants to play some footy and the club have been awesome,” Schifcofske said.
“Trent (Robinson) has a really good relationship with Ben, Sam’s dad, they talk all the time. That is the right club for him. That is the right coach for him. He has the right teammates. It ticks every box.
“It is just about him playing some footy and they have been really good and accommodating with that. We will just work through it once he has got a few games under his belt.”
Asked if Walker would be chasing a long or short-term deal with the new Brisbane team in mind, Schifcofske added that the only concern was making sure his career on the field comes first.
“Mum and dad, Ben and Kylie are good people,” Schifcofske said. “Down to earth and humble. And Ben is a pretty smart cookie himself. So it was always about him being aligned with the right coach who is going to enable him to play the footy that he best plays if that makes sense.
“Not coach it out of him, which Robbo won’t do. He will bring it out of him.
“That is why they went there and that is most likely why they will stay there.”
With Keary (hamstring) missing against the Raiders, the Lam-Walker combination put to bed any concerns of how the Roosters might cope if their most chief playmaker misses a big chunk of the year.
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