Angus Crichton still plans to honour his contract with the Sydney Roosters
SOUTH Sydney and Blues backrower Angus Crichton has no intention of backflipping on his deal with the Roosters and still intends to head to Bondi in 2019.
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PLAYERS sign contracts, players break contracts and clubs are more willing than ever to grant an early release.
Anything goes in the pursuit of success and loyalty has become a casualty in the merry-go-round of the modern day NRL player market.
Not for South Sydney forward Angus Crichton, he’s a man of his word and has no intention of turning his back on the lucrative three-year Roosters deal he signed late last year.
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With his club now flying high and on the back of an Origin series for the Blues, his commitment to the Tricolours has recently come into question.
But he put any rumours to bed on Friday saying he will honour the contract, like he did the remainder of his current Rabbitohs deal. He could have walked away when he first signed for the Bondi club but he didn’t.
“They [the Roosters] know that I signed a contract and I’m true to my word. They knew that when I signed and then I chose to stay at Souths this year, that if I sign a contract I want to honour it, that’s the kind of person I am,” he said.
So loyalty isn’t completely dead in rugby league and Crichton’s stance is refreshing in the era of rugby league being first and foremost a business.
But would his loyalty waver if he finished the season with a premiership ring?
“When I signed the contract I thought through all the options [including winning a title]. It wasn’t a short process. I didn’t just sign without thinking about it, I thought about it for a good month or so. Slept on it and when I made my decision I made it clear that was final,” he said.
“I think because we’re going well this year and because I’m having a crack some people might think that you’re having second thoughts … I guess that’s the perception it gives off.”
The Rabbitohs have emerged as an unlikely genuine threat this year and Crichton says, while he wants to leave Redfern on a high, there is no shortage of incentive for his team to go all the way.
“Greg Inglis’ comeback [from injury] and John Sutton’s 300 [game milestone this year] and it’s the last time I play with a lot of my best mates here at the club … there was no lack of motivation for me to try and win a competition here. I said that right from the very start. I want to leave here on a high and if I can help bring the 22nd premiership back to Souths that’ll be unreal.
The Bunnies announced the signing of Tigers hooker Matt McIlwrick on a two-year deal effective immediately on Friday afternoon. Coach Anthony Seibold moved quickly to sure up his dummy-half stocks after losing 273-game veteran Robbie Farah to the Tigers last week.