South Sydney believe Angus Crichton will be underdone for season opener

South Sydney believe newly minted Sydney Rooster Angus Crichton will be underdone for the season opener due to complications with his off-season shoulder surgery.

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Angus Crichton has been charged with being Cooper Cronk’s bodyguard this season, but the Sydney Roosters recruit had better watch his own back.

Former South Sydney teammate Sam Burgess put the blowtorch on Crichton, questioning whether the NSW Origin star would be 100 per cent fit for Friday night’s NRL season opener against the two oldest rivals in rugby league.

Crichton has been recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and Burgess suggested it would force his former forward partner to start off the bench for the Roosters.

For months the private chat around Redfern has been that Crichton’s surgery didn’t go to plan and the Roosters had done their best to hide the news, like they did when they played mind games in grand final week last year with Cooper Cronk’s injured scapula.

Now it is put up or shut up.

While Crichton travelled with the Roosters to England for the World Club Challenge he did not play, with his only preseason hit out in the trial against Manly in Gosford.

Crichton had one pre-season hit out. Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images.

Crichton scored a trial that night, but obviously the Rabbitohs are yet to be convinced about his full fitness.

Not that the Roosters are letting on, with Cronk labelling his new right-edge enforcer “a beast”.

“Physically he is a machine,” Cronk said. “He is a beast.

“Considering that he had a shoulder reconstruction, he still throws tin around in the weights room like no other.

“And then the way that he goes about his contact work. Honestly, he just gets stuck in from the start.

“You see from the outside, his aggressive line speed and the way he carries the ball.

“But physically is the one thing that has impressed me.

“He loves the contact.

“He loves getting down and rolling the sleeves up.

The former Rabbitoh has joined the Roosters this season. Photo by Matt King/Getty Images.

“I dare say with a little bit of emotion around the game that is exactly what he is going to do.”

And Roosters co-captain Boyd Cordner also delivered his own subtle jab right back at the Rabbitohs, declaring Crichton will take his game to the next level wearing the Tricolours.

“I think so. He is only young. He is only 23 years old,” Cordner said.

And Cordner has no doubt Crichton won’t back down from the challenge of being Cronk’s bodyguard after the hammering the halfback copped from the Bunnies last year.

“Gus has played a lot of NRL now and he is an experienced player,” Cordner said.

“He played Origin last year and he has that responsibility to look after Coops there on the right and he will do that.

“We have all the confidence in the world in Gus and that is why the club got him over to play for the Roosters.”

You can just tell after a long and controversial summer, the boys are ready to rip in.

Cronk himself had to deal with the build-up of going up against his former club Melbourne last year amid the speculation of his very public fallout with Cameron Smith.

Friday will make Crichton’s Roosters debut. Picture by Jonathan Ng.

So he knows exactly what Crichton is up against here.

Asked what advice he would pass on to his new teammate, Cronk said: “I don’t think I am the person who goes out of their way or puts someone in a position to force advice on them.

“Hopefully I have created a relationship with everyone to say the door is always open. “If he wants to then absolutely.

“At the end of the day there is some emotion around it.

“Emotion can be good it can be bad.

“I would say don’t force yourself into feeling a certain way.

“Just feel the way you want to feel.

“But then make sure your first tackle is the best one of the game and your first run is the best one.

“Because once you start off a good start or a good foot you can build on the back of that.”