Toby Sexton will keep his starting halfback role at the Bulldogs, after Stephen Crichton’s bid to make a miraculous return for Sunday’s NRL semi-final against Penrith came up short. Crichton suffered an ankle injury in Canterbury’s loss to Melbourne last week but was pushing hard to play against Penrith, in a move that could have seen Sexton axed from the starting side.
Cameron Ciraldo sprung a shock by naming the Origin star on his extended bench this week. And Crichton has been working around the clock in a bid to prove his fitness for the Panthers clash, after scans cleared him of a syndesmosis of Lisfranc injury, meaning he’s simply dealing with ligament damage.
Toby Sexton keeps his spot at halfback for the Bulldogs’ semi-final against Penrith after Stephen Crichton failed in a bid to return from injury. Pic: Getty
Crichton was considered a long-shot to play and on Saturday, Ciraldo confirmed that he would not feature. “To give himself a chance to have a crack at training last night was an incredible effort. He just couldn’t get there,” the Bulldogs coach said. “We’ll stick with the team that we named.”
It came after Bulldogs premiership winner Braith Anasta said earlier this week that word out of the club was that Crichton was closer to a return than originally thought. “I am hearing he is a bigger chance to play than most people think,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
And veteran league reporter Brent Read claimed that Crichton’s inclusion would have sparked a backline reshuffle that would ultimately have seen Sexton lose his spot at halfback. “If Crichton plays, (Matt) Burton goes to No.6, (Lachie) Galvin to No.7, Bailey Hayward at hooker and Toby Sexton on the bench,” Read said on NRL 360.
“That means Reed Mahoney won’t be in the team if Crichton plays. If Crichton doesn’t play, Burton shifts to the centres, Galvin to No.6 and Sexton to No.7 and Mahoney potentially starts the game with Hayward on the bench because it gives them a bit more versatility.”
Toby Sexton has been named to start at halfback for the Bulldogs’ NRL semi-final against Penrith. Pic: Getty
Sexton was axed from the starting side after Galvin’s mid-season switch and if he was benched again because of Crichton’s inclusion it would have come as a further blow. Many critics reckon the Bulldogs are a better side with Sexton at No.7, and their ladder-leading form in the first half of the season backs up that argument.
Sexton provided the spark for the Dogs when he came off the bench in last week’s tense 26-18 loss to the Storm. The crafty playmaker scored a crucial try and helped straighten up Canterbury in attack and simplify things for the outside backs.
Stephen Crichton’s bid to return comes up short
The Dogs were prepared to give Crichton up until the captain’s run on Saturday afternoon to prove his fitness, after which time the squad will be trimmed to 19. And Ciraldo officially put a line through the skipper after admitting that the finals clash had come too soon.
RELATED:
According to The Daily Telegraph, Crichton was doing everything in his power to expedite his recovery – even forgoing sleep. Leading reporter David Riccio revealed Crichton has “barely left” the club’s headquarters at Belmore, and has been working around the clock with club physiotherapist Adrian Low in a bid to play.
Stephen Crichton has been working around the clock to try and recover from an ankle injury in time for Canterbury’s semi-final against Penrith. Pic: Getty
Crichton would have needed pain-killing injections if he were to feature against Penrith. But as former NRL star Bryan Fletcher explained this week, that would run the risk of Crichton doing further damage to the ankle and potentially ruling him out of the prelim final if Canterbury beat the Panthers on Sunday.
“It’s just a sprained ankle so you can needle them,” Fletcher told SEN radio. “But there’s the danger if they do happen to upset Penrith, there’s an even bigger game next week. I know it’s an elimination game so you might as well risk it, but what if he just needs a week off and can come back (in the prelim if they win)?”
The Bulldogs will be boosted by the return of Bronson Xerri from concussion for the Panthers semi-final. Jethro Rinakama keeps his wing spot and Jacob Kiraz has been named after playing with pain-killing injections after making an earlier-than-expected return from his own ankle injury.