{"id":903349,"date":"2026-09-24T05:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T05:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903349\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T05:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T05:12:15","slug":"nrl-finals-2026-news-sydney-roosters-vs-dolphins-angus-crichton-interview-star-spills-on-rugby-switch-michael-cheika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903349\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL finals 2026 news: Sydney Roosters vs Dolphins; Angus Crichton interview; Star spills on rugby switch, Michael Cheika"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angus Crichton<\/a> couldn\u2019t be more locked in as he plots to sign off from the Sydney Roosters<\/a> with a second NRL<\/a> premiership before chasing Rugby World Cup<\/a> glory with the Wallabies<\/a> next year.<\/p>\n

It is a code-hopping journey he is sharing with teammate Mark Nawaqanitawase<\/a> and coach Michael Cheika<\/a>, who will trade a Chooks tracksuit for NSW Waratahs<\/a> sky blue at season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

\"Angus<\/p>\n

Angus Crichton in action for the Roosters.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Like Crichton, Cheika has been laser focused on his NRL commitments before swapping Steedens for Gilberts.<\/p>\n

The Roosters forwards specialist inked a return to the Waratahs in August<\/a> but has kept his head down and away from the media spotlight since then.<\/p>\n

Crichton will play under Cheika next season in a backline full of big names including Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii<\/a>, Max Jorgensen, Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an elephant in the room that both are happy to have there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t talk about it,\u201d the decorated 30-year-old told nine.com.au and AAP ahead of Friday\u2019s preliminary final against the Dolphins in Brisbane.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s the most important part of where we\u2019re at, and we\u2019re not looking too far ahead. Obviously, we both know that that\u2019s going to be going on and that\u2019s going to be happening and that\u2019ll be great. But, right now, we\u2019re so focused on the job at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what makes Cheika – one of the world\u2019s leading rugby coaches – special?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he is around the boys and the person that he is,\u201d Crichton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s such a great character, great energy, and he\u2019s just a good bloke. You see a lot of head coaches get super serious and they sort of lose that fun side of the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat side of rugby league is such a big part of it, the locker room and the relationships you make and the memories that you have. He\u2019s got such a good energy and just a good bloke to be around, have a joke with, have a laugh with. He\u2019s just a good fella.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s pretty much the perfect guy for the (Waratahs) job, so I had a feeling that they\u2019d probably come looking for him. I think it\u2019ll be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Michael Cheika is finishing up with the Roosters in the next few weeks.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Crichton represented the Australian Schoolboys rugby team in 2013 and 2014 before embarking on a wildly successful 213-game NRL career as well as near automatic NSW Blues and Kangaroos selection.<\/p>\n

His hero growing up was dual-code star Lote Tuqiri, and he is banking on Cheika fast-tracking his return to the 15-man game. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a legend of a bloke, and he\u2019s a great coach – especially he\u2019s a great rugby coach. And I think him being over here will definitely be a benefit for me, him understanding a little bit more about league and me being out of the game so long. I think he\u2019ll be able to help me adjust back and learn a bit quicker than I would have without him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The admiration is mutual, with Cheika telling nine.com.au this year how thrilled he was to be finally working with Crichton<\/a>, who will likely play as a hard-running inside centre for the Waratahs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been brilliant for me to work up close to him. I\u2019ve known Angus before, but I\u2019ve never had a chance to coach him and see what he\u2019s able to do with the football and without it,\u201d Cheika said.<\/p>\n

“But also the mentality that he brings towards wanting to be successful, positivity, just always looking to try and have a win and be in the contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition in training, that alone makes him a top-level player in rugby league, and I\u2019m sure he\u2019s going to be a top-level player in rugby union when he makes that move. My focus is to get him in the best form of his life and that puts him in great stead for his future as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Angus<\/p>\n

Angus Crichton of the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Nawaqanitawase\u00a0has indicated that he will miss the Wallabies\u2019 November Nations Championship Tests<\/a> to instead start his contract with Robbie Deans\u2019 Saitama Wild Knights in Japan.Cheika will start cracking the whip with the under-performing Waratahs in November and Crichton will likely be joining him in the Daceyville heat.<\/p>\n

Crichton has only just returned from a long-term foot injury and said he wasn\u2019t deserving of Kangaroos selection for the October-November Rugby League World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree months is a long time to be sitting there on the sidelines watching the boys,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s actually 12 weeks post-op, and no surprises, it\u2019s still sore… there\u2019s been some tough moments, but it\u2019s all part of the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is determined to make sure that his 159th game for the Roosters will not be his last.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all or nothing for us here,\u201d Crichton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always open to returning here, but for me, I\u2019m pretty all in (on rugby). If I\u2019m doing something, I\u2019m having a solid crack at it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Angus Crichton in 2024 in Sydney.\u00a0nna\\liam.oloughlin<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, right down the track, I could potentially come back to league, but for me, I think the way I\u2019m viewing this is, this is my last couple of games of my NRL career, and I\u2019m looking to begin a new career, starting next year. And, hopefully, I\u2019ll have as much fun and as much success in that new career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know after the season I\u2019m going to have some solid weeks getting this foot ready for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

And a dream Waratahs midfield partnership with former Roosters and State of Origin teammate Suaalii, perhaps?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty good at trying to block out a lot of the bullshit and to keep my blinkers up,\u201d he shot back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I look forward to that, and it excites me, and it\u2019ll be great. But you look too far ahead you\u2019ll fall over where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Wallabies vs Springboks and the Bledisloe Cup.\u00a0Add the Stan Sport package<\/a>\u00a0to watch rugby live and on demand with no ad-breaks in play<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Angus Crichton couldn\u2019t be more locked in as he plots to sign off from the Sydney Roosters with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-903349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}