“I can understand and respect his decision to try another sport. He’s done a lot in our game, he’s been great for our game. He’s moving on to another challenge and another sport, but he’s still got another year in the NRL.
“But if he can deliver what he did last year, it was probably the best football he’s played in his career.
There is nothing in Crichton’s rugby deal that requires him to make himself available for the Wallabies’ spring tour. Wallabies players are paid $10,000 for each Test appearance on the tour, while Kangaroos players took home $3,000 for each Ashes Test, but the money will have no bearing on Crichton’s final call-up.
Penrith’s Liam Martin will return for the Kangaroos after sitting out the Ashes with the birth of his first child, while Canberra’s Hudson Young, Canterbury’s Jacob Preston, North Queensland’s Reuben Cotter and Gold Coast’s Beau Fermor are other second-row options. South Sydney’s Keaon Koloamatangi can also play on the wing.
Loading
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh announced last week that Crichton would be considered for an immediate invitation to the spring tour. “I think it’s a sensible transition to hit the marks we want to hit and our aspirations for the Rugby World Cup, the longer the squad is together and we build cohesion and combinations, the better prepared we’ll be,” he said.
Meanwhile, Walters said he had started planning for the World Cup despite being out of contract in July – three months before the event on home soil. Sources with knowledge of Walters’ contract situation, who were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Walters will remain in the top job.
“I’m in no rush,” Walters said. “We’ve already had some meetings and some discussions about planning the cup.
We send news, results and expert analysis from the sports weekend every Monday. Subscribe to our sports newsletter.
Leave a Reply