Stephen Crichton’s faith drives his success
Stephen Crichton, on the verge of premiership glory and a NSW jumper, has lost only one game this season. His new mouthguard has lost none.
A medium-sized TV is on the wall. No paintings or pictures. An eight-seater lounge is shaped like a U. One brown coffee table is in the middle of the living room. There’s a clock near the TV. It has a Bible verse written on it. The words on the clock say Psalm 37:7. Be Still Before The Lord And Wait Patiently For Him. The numbers on the clock go tick-tock, tick-tock towards 4pm.
Earlier in the week, Stephen Crichton has been asked for the reason behind his meteoric rise from the Penrith bench to a starting berth in Sunday night’s NRL grand final and then his near-certain selection in the NSW State of Origin squad. “Probably my faith,” has been his response, which is probably the sort of remark that pisses a few people off, especially in sport, where nonbelievers take absurd glee in rolling their eyes and mocking Christian athletes for thinking spirituality plays any role whatsoever in their physical endeavours.
Aaron Baddeley misses a putt. Where’s your God now! Novak Djokovic decks a linesperson. Not very Jesus-like! But there has been an endearing sincerity in Crichton’s reply that I think probably warrants further investigation. If we really want to know what has fuelled a 20-year-old’s rookie season so spectacular it nearly beggars belief, if we want to salute what he’s done and how he’s done it, we have to respect all parts of him, do we not? I think we probably do. I want to find his local pastor and his father Thankfully, they’re the same bloke.
His name is Va’a. This is a beautiful man. He and his wife Sina are the parents of six children. We are in the living room of their one-storey home at Bidwill, just outside the rough-and-tumble suburb of Mount Druitt in Sydney’s outer west. A humble abode, it is. Four of the children still live here, including Stephen. His car is outside, near the gym equipment plonked on the front lawn, the P-plates a reminder that he’s only just out of his teens.
This house is where Crichton will wake on Sunday morning. This room is where Va’a will lead the weekly family ritual for Stephen before Sunday night’s grand final between Penrith and against Melbourne. This sparse, clean and uncluttered room is where Crichton will pause before he walks out the front door and heads for ANZ Stadium for the biggest night of his life. It’s the first NRL grand final he has been to, let alone played in. He will not leave this house until Va’a and the family have laid hands on him right here in front of the U-shaped lounge.
“We kneel right here,” Va’a says. “Every game, I get all my family and we kneel and we pray on him here before he leaves out home. I tell Stephen that without God, you are nothing. Without God, I am nothing. Without God in our hearts, we are lost. I have always said to our children, please listen. There is power in this.
“There is a spiritual side to life that comes from a strong faith. We believe in God. We believe in miracle. We believe God can do something special for us. We kneel right here and we pray and often it is Isaiah 40:31. It says, you can run and grow not weary. You can walk and not be faint. What we are telling him is, when you walk out this door, have no fear in your heart.”
Crichton was one when his family left Apia, Samoa. They settled in New Zealand before moving to Sydney when he was three. They had nothing on day one in this town. Nothing. His mother, Sina, blinks away tears when she remembers the local family who paid Stephen’s junior football fees because the Crichtons couldn’t afford the $130 registration. Va’a drives a bus five days a week and then pours himself into pastorship of the Rooty Hill Assembly of God. Before Sunday’s service at his church, he will be laying his hands on his son in their home.
Sina says: “It is the encouragement from God to believe in yourself. To stand tall. It is an encouragement to release fear. As his mother, when I see him run onto a field, I feel God’s protection on him. The Bible has warmth in it. The Bible has peace.”
Va’a laughs and slaps his thigh. Tell you a story! He says the Panthers have lost one game this year, to Parramatta in round five, back in the days when Crichton had his surname written on his mouthguard. The CRICHTON hasn’t been seen since then because of a suggestion from his older brother, Christian, who plays for Canterbury in the NRL.
“Before the Parramatta game, Stephen was very nervous and he had very much a fear,” Va’a says of the 16-10 defeat in which Crichton was carved up by his opposite number, the Eels’ Waqa Blake. “He had fear of the player. When he finished the game and came back here, my oldest son suggested he change his mouthguard.
“Before it said ‘Crichton’ on it. Now it says ‘Psalm 118:6’, which says, the Lord is with me. I will not be afraid. In other words, God is on my side. It means that anyone can do any thing they want to me and I will not fear it when God is on my side.”
Va’a laughs when he’s reminded they haven’t lost since. Seventeen straight! What a mouthguard! He says it’s not like that. He laughs when he’s told, don’t let him forget to pack it on Sunday! He laughs again and says a spiritual life is the only worthwhile life but it can be hard in the NRL, you know, because you’ve still got to make your tackles! The Storm’s defence is unlikely to part like the Red Sea unless there’s a bit of push and shove involved. There’s no magic mouthguard. It’s not the mouthguard that has won 17 straight. It’s just Crichton trying to be who he wants to be. It’s no different to him fasting with his family once a week. No food or drink from 6am from one day to the next. Va’a and Sina do it on Wednesdays. Stephen can pick any day.
Va’a gets more serious and says: “There is violence in this area. I have always encouraged our children to get away from the violence and the smoking and the drinking. Get away from all that because if you commit yourself to those things, you will not lead a meaningful life. You will not lead a life that satisfies the heart and the spirit you have inside you. I can see his dream is coming true.”
Va’a and Sina need to pass a COVID-19 test on Friday evening to be allowed into the dressing room at the first NRL grand final they’ve had tickets for. “I feel my tears, just imagining what it will be like,” Sina says. She blinks again and clasps her hands and says: “This is my thought on Stephen. This boy was born with this talent. When he was young, back in Samoa, one-and-a-half years old, he would find a plastic Fanta bottle. He would kick it, and go and get it, and kick it again.
“I remember this vividly. When we were sitting, we would play passings with the bottle. He could catch it, he could throw it. There was something different about it. I could see the hand movement and his eye. And the foot! When he was at school, he never stopped moving. He came home after school and he would be in the backyard, always kicking something. Often we could not have a ball. He found something else to use. I believe on every one of us, God has a calling for on your life.”
A straight-talking neighbour nods at the Crichton house and says, “They’re a beautiful family, mate. They’re humble. I didn’t watch league for a long time after Super League. I’m watching again because of that kid and his family. You know what they are, mate? They’re good people. That’s it. They’re just good people.” Va’a laughs again. He’s pleased with the description. He says, it’s good to be good! When he’s asked how he will feel when his son runs onto ANZ Stadium for the biggest night of all their lives, he replies: “A mixture of excitement and unbelievable”
What a good line. Crichton’s season has been exactly that. A colossal mixture of excitement and unbelievable. Bible verses are everywhere in here. Nestled among Crichton’s mountain of trophies and medals and ribbons and assorted symbols of realised hopes and dreams and prayers date is a cross decorated by Joshua 1:9. Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. And so we depart.
The numbers on the clock go tick-tock, tick-tock towards 5pm. The words on the clock tell Crichton every day that anything other than a deeply spiritual existence is probably a waste of his time. Va’a is standing on the street, waving goodbye. There’s not much out here, to be honest. He taps his chest above his heart and says: “The miracles are in here.”
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