‘That’s what we trained for all pre-season’: Stephen Crichton emerges as a genuine chance to replace Matt Burton at five-eighth

The Bulldogs are set to be without Matt Burton for at least a month, with a surprise contender emerging to replace him in the halves.

Stephen Crichton has emerged as a genuine option at five-eighth for the Bulldogs on Sunday with the club expecting playmaker Matt Burton and barnstorming back-rower Viliame Kikau to miss 4-5 weeks with knee injuries.

Burton went down in the first half while Kikau limped off in the final few minutes of their comprehensive win over the Titans on a stinking hot evening in Belmore.

Club boss Phil Gould posted an update on social media after the game, with the pair hoping to be back for the Good Friday clash against Souths on April 18.

Injury update ⁦@NRL_Bulldogs⁩
Matt Burton
MCL grade 2. Getting a scan at 9pm tonight to confirm. Usually 4 to 5 weeks.
Viliame Kikau
MCL Grade 2+. Probably slightly worse than Burton. Scan tomorrow 7am at Hawkesbury to exclude other injury. About the same time.

— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 16, 2025

“I just checked Gus’s Twitter, and both of them are getting scans over the next 24 hours so hopefully we’ll know more by then. But it’s not looking great for them,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said.

“We’ve got a bye around then so hopefully we get them both back.

“Both worked extremely hard and started the season really well so it’s going to be a shame to lose them, but I feel like the depth we’ve got at the club now is as strong as it’s been in the three years since I’ve been here.

“There were some guys in NSW Cup who played really well, and we’ve still got some guys to come back from injury so I’m really excited to see those guys get their opportunities.”

The Bulldogs enjoyed a big win in reserve grade with Drew Hutchison and Joseph O’Neill performing well in the halves, but Ciraldo indicated skipper Stephen Crichton could move to the halves after he played there for a bit on Sunday.

The Titans scored twice where Crichton would usually defend so he moved back to right centre in the second half, with the premiership winner playing two games at five-eighth for Samoa back in 2023.

Matt Burton is expected to miss a month with a knee injury. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“Over the pre-season, we got to dig a bit deeper and put people in different positions,” his coach said.

“Critta (Crichton) going into the halves was one of those in the pre-season so he’s had a lot of reps there.

“He went there tonight and I was excited for that challenge for him, but we looked a bit shaky on the right edge so I had to put him back there to solve the problem.

“He might get a chance playing there in the near future.

“That’s what we trained for all pre-season. If one of our halves went down, Critta was moving into that spot.”

Crichton is one of the best centres in the world but is happy to fill in at five-eighth if required.

Stephen Crichton could be the man to replace Matt Burton at five-eighth. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“I’ve trained in different positions all season just for situations like that,” he said.

“It’s not good having one of our boys get injured, but if someone does go down, you’ve done the reps throughout the whole pre-season to go out there and get that job done regardless if that’s your position or not.”

Whoever fills in will play second fiddle to halfback Toby Sexton who had a strong game against the Titans and lifted when his halves partner went off.

“I thought even before ‘Burto’ went off, Toby was looking like he was going to have one of his best games,” Ciraldo said.

“He did a lot right. There are some things he’d like to fix up as well… but Toby’s progression took a couple of steps forward.”

Originally published as ‘That’s what we trained for all pre-season’: Stephen Crichton emerges as a genuine chance to replace Matt Burton at five-eighth