Canterbury’s star 2024 recruit is a three-time Premiership winner at centre. Yet, the Bulldogs cannot afford to play Stephen Crichton in his best position… at least for now.
Admittedly, five games isn’t a large sample size. It’s roughly 11% of the average NRL career; barely enough time to get a stranglehold on first grade football, let alone come to terms with the physical and technical demands of an entire position.
Yet it was seemingly five games at the position in 2021, as well as countless others at centre, that convinced Phil Gould and the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs to sign Panthers star, Stephen Crichton, on a multi-year deal under the guise of being the Belmore outfit’s future fullback.
As we approach the 2024 NRL season at full steam, most things appear settled in the rugby league world, while some remain up in the air.
But what’s not set in stone is just where Stephen Crichton will line up for the Bulldogs.
Can Canterbury afford to not play him at fullback?
Where should the Bulldogs play Stephen Crichton?
In December 2023, Crichton told NRL.com he’d leave the position he plays for the Bulldogs up to head coach Cameron Ciraldo.
“I just need to train the best I can so when Ciraldo picks the team, he can pick the best he can think of to put on the field.”
He explained the 2023-24 pre-season was about getting himself into the best shape possible in order to ‘nail [his] job for the team,’ wherever that may be.
“Wherever I play I’ll be pretty happy with that,” he insisted.
Possessing a genuine superstar who’s not only positionally ambiguous, elite in at least two, and likely three, backline positions, but also modest enough to bury his ego and put his hand up for whichever role benefits the team as a whole, not just Stephen Crichton, must be a blessing for Ciraldo and company.
Crichton’s willingness to set aside his ego, and every elite footballer’s disposition for desiring more of the ball, for the benefit of a team he’s only just joined is admirable, and if pre-season challenge team lists are anything to go off, he will need to maintain this attitude for the entirety of the 2024 NRL season.
Ahead of the Bulldogs’ second pre-season trial match against the Cronulla Sharks, Crichton was named at centre in what is largely a full-strength Bulldogs side, with Blake Taaffe maintaining the fullback role he filled during the first trial.
Canterbury’s situation is hardly as desperate as when they secured Crichton’s signature. Along with Conor Tracey and Bronson Xerri, Taaffe arrived, bolstering Cameron Ciraldo’s backline options and providing much-needed depth.
In Taaffe, the Bulldogs signed a talented fullback, one Wayne Bennett trusted during the Rabbitohs’ run to the 2021 NRL Grand Final, while Tracey has featured in as many NRL games at fullback as Crichton has.
Both have their flaws, naturally. Both also have the potential to become more than serviceable first grade fullbacks, with their history playing the halves providing them with the necessary ball-playing edge that’s become a pre-requisite of the modern fullback.
However, just because they can play fullback doesn’t necessarily mean they should. Can the Bulldogs afford to not gamble on playing their marquee man, Crichton, at the back, even if he is rugby league’s best centre?
At this stage of their rebuild, no. Put simply, they cannot. That’s despite suggestions from one of the finest footballers in rugby league history that keeping Crichton in the centres is exactly the course of action they must embark on.
Current Queensland Maroons coach, Billy Slater, stated late in 2023 that he’d keep Crichton in the position he’s won two Premierships at (he featured on the wing in 2021) if he were Bulldogs coach.
“I don’t know if I’d move him to fullback. I think he’s a quality centre,” Slater said.
As someone who’s become synonymous with the position, the former Melbourne fullback understands the nuances, both offensively and defensively, needed to excel there. His judgement on the matter simply cannot be ignored.
However, Slater’s case wasn’t a lack of faith that Crichton has what it takes to excel at the back, but simply that the defensive elements to his game, which proved crucial in many matches for Penrith, are wasted at the back.
In 2023, Crichton’s tackle efficiency sat around 85%, 11th best amongst NRL centres, although his defensive skill lies in his ability to read the play, often exemplified in the intercepts he takes, including against Souths in the 2021 Grand Final and Parramatta in that year’s semi-final.
Undoubtedly, the Bulldogs would benefit from Crichton’s defensive understanding on either of their edges. However, according to StatsInsider, Canterbury conceded 31% of their 2023 tries down their right edge, the edge Crichton was typically fielded on for Penrith.
In fact, most of Canterbury’s tries were conceded down the opposite edge, although a large portion of their defensive issues related to constantly unplugged holes in the middle of the field. Crichton won’t be able to plug these at centre but at fullback he might by communicating effectively with his front line.
It’s not the defensive elements of Crichton’s game that should drive Ciraldo’s decision to play him at fullback in 2024, but rather his offensive potential. As I mentioned earlier, five games is far from a massive sample size but it’s still able to provide us a snapshot of the kind of fullback Stephen Crichton is.
Across five games at fullback in 2021, the Samoan international scored twice, assisted two more, busted 14 tackles and crucially averaged 200 running metres, including running for over 300 metres against his current employers in 12.
But it was Crichton’s performance against the Rabbitohs later in that season, as an emergency fullback after Dylan Edwards went off for an HIA in the 25th minute, that caught the attention of the rugby league world.
In addition to 185 running metres, Crichton crossed for a try, with his performance enough to draw comparisons to Tom Trbojevic, himself the best fullback in the NRL on his day. Post-match, former Bulldogs captain Mick Ennis’ comments summed up why Canterbury must give Crichton the first crack at fullback.
“I love Crichton more involved,” Ennis said, adding how he loved the prospect of Crichton permanently at fullback, comparing him to Joey Manu, an exceptional footballer who, in 14 games at fullback, has shown his game-breaking potential.
And that’s exactly what Crichton possesses, game-breaking potential, at a level none of the other Bulldogs fullback options, as good as they are, boast. Crichton’s physically imposing enough to bounce and force his way through tackles, creating space for himself or teammates, and skilled enough with hand and foot to lay opportunities on for others.
Not only that, the six-time NSW representative three seasons watching and learning from rugby league’s most consistent fullback, Dylan Edwards.
“I’m probably more experienced now (at fullback) than the first time I played. Just learning how to play the position properly and being alongside one of the best fullbacks in Dylan – I picked his brains,” Crichton explained.
While the Bulldogs’ position is, on the surface at least, far less precarious than when Crichton signed, meaning they have options should they choose to play him at centre, they simply cannot afford to have a player of his calibre isolated on an edge, particularly on the right edge away from Canterbury’s main attacking weapons.
Allowing Crichton to operate at the back and get his hands on the ball more often; on both sides of the ruck as well as through the middle of the field capitalising on offloads and any other forward momentum could be the most dangerous ingredient in Canterbury’s attack in 2024.
Not only does Crichton at fullback raise their attacking ceiling, but improves their ability coming out of their end, with Blake Taaffe, the man firming as the Bulldog’s likely second-choice fullback option, averaging just over 100 running metres per game at fullback.
Besides, what else do they have to lose? Cameron Ciraldo is blessed with centre options, notably Bronson Xerri, Conor Tracey and Jacob Kiraz, and so can afford to role with Crichton at the back, at least to begin 2024.
A club like the Bulldogs, who will be hoping to turn their fortunes around this season, simply can’t afford to not start a player of Crichton’s calibre anywhere but fullback. When you’re in a rut, as Canterbury has been, your best bet is to get your best player the football in good positions as often as possible. Playing Crichton at the back will allow the Bulldogs to do just that.
This isn’t to suggest he needs to remain there long-term. A world exists where, after a few seasons of improvement at Belmore, Crichton returns to the centres and a highly touted youngster, such as NSW under-19s representative Joash Papalii, puts a mortgage on the position.
Now though, Ciraldo needs to back Crichton to become what many good judges expect him to become; an exceptional first grade fullback who possesses the speed, size, agility and deft skillset to add an extra element to and unlock Canterbury’s attack.
