Roosters back-rower Angus Crichton makes his long-awaited return to football on Saturday, his first match since helping the Kangaroos to victory in the World Cup final against Samoa last November.
A NSW Cup match against Newtown at Henson Park is a long way from a World Cup decider at Old Trafford in Manchester, but it’s safe to assume Crichton will cherish the moment because, just a few months ago, there were genuine fears he’d never play again.
He may never talk about his absence from the game, and he’s under no obligation to do so, but that won’t halt the salacious speculation that’s been swirling around the past few months.
Crichton’s family released a statement in late February revealing Angus suffers from bipolar disorder, although the announcement was met with the usual cynicism from some quarters.
Bipolar is often dismissed as a mental illness, especially when used within the context of rugby league. People invariably roll their eyes, thinking it’s an excuse for bad behaviour.
“I wish bipolar was around when I was younger!” millionaire adman John Singleton joked in an interview I did with him a decade ago.
Roosters star Angus Crichton makes his return to the playing field on Saturday.Credit: NRL Photos
It was. It was called manic depression.
Now it’s called “bipolar disorder”. It’s real and can be bloody tricky. At times, it feels like you’re trying to shove lightning into a bottle.
I know: I have it.
Kanye West got in a lot of trouble for “romanticising” mental illness in 2019 when he described his manic episodes as a “superpower” – but the US rapper was right.
When you’re Up, you can do anything. You can spring out of bed at 4am and bash out 2000 words in an hour for the newspaper for which you work before going on a run while listening to an NFL Fantasy podcast as you talk to your sister on the phone.
When you’re Down, the keyboard feels like it’s made of razor blades each time you strike a letter, you can barely drag your depressed arse to the door for UberEATS, and … do I even have a sister?
My mania is often brought on by the thing I love the most – writing – while athletes tell me theirs is brought on by their sport. I’ve never been hospitalised like Crichton was earlier this year, but there are times when I feel like I’m riding an enormous wave and fear what’s going to happen when I inevitably wipe out.
Everybody’s different, of course, but I found medication worked for a while then suddenly it didn’t. I also found it blunted my creativity and sense of humour, which you need if you report on rugby league for a living. So, I just ride the waves and don’t ask where they go.
There are scores of artsy types who have openly spoken about coping with bipolar disorder — Stephen Fry, Carrie Fisher, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Ben Stiller — but it’s equally common in sport.
Many sports doctors to whom I’ve spoken claim it goes undiagnosed in many athletes. For those who are diagnosed, it finally provides an answer.
Consider Ron Artest, the former pro basketballer who was front and centre of the Malice in the Palace, the infamous NBA match in 2004 when Artest’s Indiana Pacers played the Detroit Pistons.
Artest ignited an already volatile match with a last-minute foul that turned into an all-in brawl. He then sprawled out on the scorers’ table before climbing into the stands and started throwing punches after someone threw a drink at him.
When the match was abandoned, the players returned to the locker room, but Artest wasn’t the least concerned.
Indiana forward Ron Artest returns to the court after charging into the crowd.Credit: AP
“Jack, you think we going to get in trouble?” Artest asked teammate Stephen Jackson.
“Are you serious, bro?” Jackson replied, stunned. “Trouble? Ron, we’ll be lucky if we still have a freaking job!”
Artest was suspended for the next 86 games while Jackson was sidelined for 30.
Initially, Artest was dismissed as someone with “anger management issues” but in recent years he’s opened up about his bipolar diagnosis, including in his 2019 documentary Quiet Storm: the Ron Artest Story.
“Every day I was like, ‘What the f–k’s gonna happen today?’” he has said. “There were days I was literally going crazy. I don’t know how I was playing the game … I don’t know how.”
The Roosters are too professional to let Crichton return to training, let alone the field before he’s ready.
As he makes his return on Saturday, and hopefully back into the NSW and Australian jumpers he wore last year, people should respect what he’s going through – riding the waves and not asking where they go.
Bol’s at the races, and still racing to clear his name
SPOTTED: Australian runner Peter Bol in the Longines marquee at Royal Randwick last Saturday for the second day of The Championships.
The dual-Olympian received overwhelming support from the public as he continues his fight to clear his name after Sports Integrity Australia suspended him for allegedly using the banned substance EPO.
Bol was in February cleared to train and compete after he returned an atypical B-sample, which means it was neither positive nor negative.
As revealed by the Herald on March 29, two independent laboratories found that Bol’s samples were incorrectly read and handled.
He’s still waiting for a response from SIA after his US-based lawyer, Paul Greene, fired off a legal letter demanding the ongoing investigation be abandoned.
As he made his way around the track last Saturday, a former training partner tipped him Explosive Jack in the Sydney Cup.
Let’s hope he backed the horse: it saluted at $23.
Hunt’s plea for Griffin misses the mark
Ben Hunt deserves his say on who should next coach the Dragons — but the club should ignore its captain following his remarks earlier this week.
Unsurprisingly, he wants Anthony Griffin to keep his job and even flagged the possibility of walking out on the club if Griffin was moved on.
“He has been here for a couple of years now, and we are building in a direction I believe is the right direction,” Hunt told reporters.
“I believe if you take away your coach and bring a new coach in, it’s going to start that cycle again and, to be honest, I don’t have the time to start it all again. I’m getting to the back end, and I’m not really keen on starting fresh.”
Hunt’s the best thing the Dragons have going for them — imagine how they’d look without him — but his comments are selfish and can’t be taken seriously.
He might not be keen on “starting fresh”, but you can bet Dragons members and sponsors are keen on their side reaching the finals at some point in this lifetime.
Ask …. and you shall receive
The fans became very restless on Wednesday morning when SEN’s Matt White asked listeners what they would like the NRL’s next crackdown to focus on.
“Play-the-ball drives me nuts!” said The Surfing Knight. “If you can’t play the ball correctly after 20 years of playing to make first grade, you deserve 10 in the bin”.
Culburra Beach Wests Tiger concurred: “Tui Kamikamica hasn’t touched the ball with his foot in six seasons.”
This from Philfy: “Definitely be the milking of penalties. If someone can’t get straight up after the play the ball they have to go off for an assessment.”
What about this offering Newport Rooster: “They’ve forgotten the voluntary tackle rule!”
Kingswood Welder wasn’t concerned with the interpretation of rules as much as style.
“The No.1 thing I’d crack down on is bad haircuts!” he fumed. “Ban Mullets!”
THE QUOTE
“I don’t think I have a heart anymore. I think I used all the beats I had left during that match.” — Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds after Wrexham FC, the Welsh team he part owns, scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to secure a 3-2 win against their closest rival Notts County, moving them one step closer to promotion. Fire up, Deadpool.
THUMBS UP
The Matildas’ 2-0 thumping for England in Brentford on Wednesday prompted many of us to dream about the possibility of Sam Kerr leading Australia to victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil later this year. Exciting times.
THUMBS DOWN
Four AFL players received racial and homophobic abuse within 24 hours earlier this week. Fremantle Dockers players Nathan Wilson and Michael Walters and Brisbane Lions forward Charlie Cameron all copped the vitriol on social media. You can’t legislate against stupidity.
It’s a big weekend for … the 11th-placed Waratahs as they take on the 10th-placed Force in the 12-team Super Rugby clash at Allianz Stadium on Saturday. Should be a ripper.
It’s an even bigger weekend for … the AFL as it holds its very first Gather Round, which is a rip-off of the NRL’s Magic Round, which is a rip-off of the UK Super League’s Magic Weekend. All nine matches will be held at grounds around Adelaide.
