NSW captain Isaah Yeo has declared that star centre Stephen Crichton will be fit for the State of Origin series opener, despite the 25-year-old missing the Blues' first training session of their Central Coast camp.
More than 1000 fans turned out on Wednesday to watch the Blues take their first steps towards Origin redemption following last year's 2-1 series capitulation. Crichton, wearing a tracksuit jumper and joggers, did not warm up with the Blues or participate in team drills at Kanwal's Morry Breen Oval.
He threw a ball around with debutant winger Tolu Koula towards the end of the session but did not exert himself as he continues to manage a shoulder issue. Crichton has been below his best since suffering a grade-five AC joint injury in April, requiring pain-killing injections to play four NRL games since making an early return.
His contact training load has been managed by his NRL side Canterbury, but Crichton had said on Monday he expected to be unrestricted this week. Uncapped Penrith youngster Casey McLean trained in his place on Wednesday, but Yeo expects Crichton back on Thursday.
“I’m pretty sure he’s in fully tomorrow. He’ll be fine,” Yeo said of his former Panthers teammate. “I’d be very surprised if ‘Critta’ was in any doubt at all (for game one). But Casey’s here because Laurie (Daley, coach) trusts him that if he was having to play, he’d do a wonderful job for his state.”
McLean’s inclusion on Daley’s six-man bench comes after a change in eligibility rules that allows New Zealand and England internationals to play Origin, provided they meet other criteria. Sydney-born McLean learned of his maiden Origin call-up while still on the field at Suncorp Stadium following Penrith’s Magic Round defeat of St George Illawarra.
“I was going around trying to find one of my friends in the crowd, then our GM (Matt Cameron) came up to me and said, ‘You’ve got a phone call’,” McLean recalled. “I was like, ‘Who’s trying to call me?’ I did connect the dots and I was like, ‘No way’.”
An emotional McLean quickly beckoned for his family to meet him by the side of the pitch to hear the news. “Emotions kind of overtook me,” the 20-year-old said. “I didn’t have any words left in me, and then I kind of saw Mum and Dad and broke.”
McLean’s family had motivated him to prioritise playing for the Kiwis rather than NSW earlier in his career. “They were supporting me, no matter what happened,” he said. “At the end of the day, I just wanted to represent my family, give back to Mum and Dad, (after) all the sacrifices they made moving over (from New Zealand).”
McLean’s father also inspired him to choose a rugby league career over rugby union, which the younger McLean played at a high level while a Newington College student. Willie McLean played six games for North Sydney in the 1990s, and was left speechless on Sunday after hearing his son was in line for an Origin debut. “He was probably similar to me, just had no words. It was cool,” McLean said.
