State of Origin: Brother Stephen and Christian Crichton clash in NSW Blues opposed session

He spent countless hours “whacking” Stephen Crichton in backyard footy games as kids. It’s why Christian refused to go soft when marking his brother at a Blues opposed session.

At Kennards Hire, St Marys winger Christian Crichton goes out of his way to “make the job easy”.

It’s what the former Penrith and Canterbury back is paid to do when he’s not playing for the Saints in the Ron Massey Cup.

But after getting the morning off work, Crichton was determined to make the opposed session on Thursday against NSW and his younger brother, Blues star Stephen Crichton, anything but easy.

Christian, 27, had the job of marking against Stephen and testing his defence on the edge in a Blues contact session against the Saints, who were standing in as the Maroons at Blue Mountains Grammar School.

He spent countless hours “whacking” Stephen, 24, in backyard footy games as kids but had to refrain from dishing out the same type of punishment.

That doesn’t mean Christian went easy on Stephen, given the brothers have never had the chance to play against or even with each other at the elite level.

“I did (jam him) a few times there but, not being full contact, I would love to whack him (but I couldn’t),” he said.

“We just want to do our job to make sure they’re getting out of the session what they need to, so we’re not doing anything silly or trying to hurt the boys, but it’s good fun.”

As kids, Christian “hurt” Stephen plenty of times. Back then, “getting one over” Stephen was easy.

Stephen and brother Christian Crichton at a NSW opposed session. Picture: NRL Photos/Grant Trouville

“He was actually surprising as a little kid,” Christian said. “He wasn’t too big, he was just skinny.

“He had a growth spurt and filled out his body. It was a bit small. Then he grew and then kept growing.”

The star Canterbury skipper is now a towering Origin centre at 193cm tall and weighing almost 100kg.

Stephen is already a three-time premiership winner and on the verge of helping NSW secure an Origin series in a decider in enemy territory for the first time since 2005.

But Christian didn’t think any of Stephen’s remarkable achievements would come, especially by 23 years of age.

“Surprisingly, not really,” Christian said when asked if Stephen was a prodigious league talent as a kid.

“Coming through the grades he was in division two.

“He wasn’t the best player but he just liked to work. He’d train and work hard.

“Over the years and with good coaching he’s been able to pick up things and continue to learn and get better. That’s what has got him to where he is today, hard work and always being keen to learn.”

Stephen conquered Suncorp Stadium at club level when he won his first grand final there with Penrith during the Covid bubble in 2021.

Christian was in Canterbury’s bubble during that time but due to restrictions did not get the chance to see his brother raise the NRL trophy.

He won’t miss the chance to see Stephen lift the Origin shield for NSW at the ground.

“We’ll be there,” Christian said. “This is the first decider he’s playing so it’s something I’m not going to miss.

“Being in Queensland makes it that bit harder. It’s very exciting. We are backing him and the boys.”

The three Crichtons. Picture: NRL Photos/Grant Trouville

A Penrith junior, Stephen is shaping as the buy of the year for Canterbury and one of the most influential players in the NRL.

Christian believes Stephen’s decision to join the Bulldogs, who were struggling and in the middle of a rebuild, helped his younger brother take his game to another level.

But Stephen has taken Canterbury with him and the club is now in the hunt for a top-four finals spot.

“It challenged him a bit more to take a step up rather than (staying comfortable),” Christian said.

“It’s good playing in a really good team like Penrith where everyone’s firing but he’s glad he took the challenge on.

“He’s not too afraid to fail. Even with the (Bulldogs) captaincy, it was new to him but he was happy to take it on.”