Every NRL club’s best buy since 1998: Can Stephen Crichton erase the ghost of Bulldogs’ Johnathan Thurston blunder?

The Bulldogs letting Johnathan Thurston go will go down as the biggest recruitment blunder in rugby league history, gifting the Cowboys the best buy of the modern era. We reveal every NRL club’s best player purchase since 1998.

The ghost of Johnathan Thurston has long haunted the Bulldogs faithful. A recruitment blunder. The top of any list of players your NRL club should never have let go.

But two decades on, Stephen Crichton could help ease those thoughts with the Bulldogs skipper setting himself to become one of Canterbury’s greatest modern day purchases.

His impact has already been felt on and off the field. It took just two weeks of pre-season training before Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo realised the shift in culture with Crichton’s presence.

The pair were close and, if it was not for Ciraldo, there is no way Crichton would have ended up in blue and white.

But even Ciraldo was taken aback by just how much Crichton had grown in the 12 months they were apart. Those two weeks left Ciraldo with little choice but to hand Crichton the captaincy.

While he may not yet be Canterbury’s best purchase since 1998 — given he is just 16 games into his Bulldogs career — the way he is tracking he could not only be Canterbury’s premier pick-up, but any club’s greatest recruitment since Thurston.

Stephen Crichton is on track to be Canterbury’s best ever pick-up. Picture: NRL Photos

Thurston left the Bulldogs as a premiership winner at the end of 2004, before carving out one of the most successful careers at the Cowboys — four Dally M Medals, two grand finals, a premiership and an integral part of Queensland’s eight-year State of Origin domination.

Thurston was just 21 when he joined North Queensland. Crichton is two years older and already has three premiership rings to his name. Like the Panthers, the Bulldogs had salary cap issues and rightfully prioritised incumbents Braith Anasta and Brent Sherwin.

Crichton possesses a rare ability. Most centres can either beat you with strength or speed. Very few have both, let alone showcase them in one play. But that’s exactly what he did when he skipped on the outside of Seb Kris before fending away Jordan Rapana to produce a piece of individual brilliance against Canberra last week. It was a big play.

Thurston may be the benchmark of all-time great buys but there have been a heap of high-profile players who have changed clubs in recent years. The Sydney Roosters lead the way with the likes of Cooper Cronk, Sonny Bill Williams, Craig Fitzgibbon, Adrian Morley, James Tedesco and Jared Weara-Hargreaves. They aren’t alone though.

From Test stars to players who were unwanted at their former club. These are the players who forged their path in a different jersey to the ones in which they made their debut.

And the way Crichton is tracking he may eventually be the greatest buy of them all.

But for now here is your club’s best buy. They had to be signed from the 1998 season and had played first grade or Super League elsewhere. For the Storm, Titans and Dolphins their signings were counted from their second season.

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Not enough has been made of Shaun Johnson’s impending retirement.

He was the closest thing to Benji Marshall the game has ever seen. And their careers have followed a similar path.

Fleet-footed and carefree to start their time in first grade. They wowed everyone with their no-look passes, touch football-inspired steps and an ability to do things that no-one else could. But they finished their careers as generals, a totally revamped player compared to their highlight reel moments.

While Marshall and Stacey Jones have a mortgage on the greatest Kiwi halves, Johnson is not far behind.

A great entertainer who was the only Warriors player for much of his career that was as recognisable as an All Black in New Zealand.