New details have emerged surrounding Stephen Crichton’s departure from the Panthers — and why the premiership-winning gun was left feeling unwanted by his boyhood club.
The 22-year-old signed a four-year deal with the Bulldogs last week, joining former assistant Cameron Ciraldo in making the move to Belmore.
Panthers premiership winners Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton will both also ply their trade for the Canterbury-Bankstown club in 2023.
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Crichton came off-contract in the same year as Liam Martin, Brian To’o and Izack Tago — and with a number of high-profile guns hoping for improved contracts, the Panthers were set for a salary cap squeeze.
According to the SMH, Crichton, who has played 76 games for the Penrith powerhouse, found out he was the man to be forced out due to cap pressure.
From then on, Crichton knew his future lay elsewhere and called coach Ivan Cleary to inform him of his decision last Sunday.
“Through multiple discussions that I had with the club, our camp felt that Penrith were reluctant to come back to the negotiation table and had, in fact, decided to spend the money elsewhere,” Crichton’s manager Liam Ayoub said to the Herald.
“Why else would they tell us, before they had re-signed other players, that Stephen could go to market? And at the same time, despite our attempts, also not come back to us with even a ballpark figure or perceived value from their end.”
The Panthers were reportedly set to table Crichton a new deal only a day after he made his decision, with the club’s last offer coming in May last year.
Both Brian To’o and Izack Tago were also offered new contracts at the same time and both are managed by Ayoub.
Tago’s deal was completed swiftly before To’o signed a new deal in December, putting off negotiations until after the representative season.
During that time Ayoub reportedly put forward a one-year extension offer for Crichton which was worth upwards of $800,000.
However, the Panthers response was blunt and reportedly left the gun centre feeling unwanted at the club he made his debut at in 2019.
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“We never received any terms back but were met with a ‘it may be best for Stephen to go to market’,” Ayoub said.
“That offer from May was also no longer on the table.
“Then we were given an impression that Stephen would need to stay on money far lower than what he was on in 2023 to stay beyond that.”
The Panthers offer in May was reportedly a two-year extension worth around $700,000 per-season, but after Ayoub tabled a one-year deal club powerbrokers believed Crichton was ready to leave.
The uncertainty surrounding the salary cap also muddied negotiations before he put pen to paper on a four-year deal worth in excess of $3.3 million dollars, according to Fox League’s James Hooper.
Crichton, who has won back-to-back premierships in Penrith, could ply his trade in the centres or at fullback under Ciraldo.
The Bulldogs have also tabled a mammoth offer to sign Eels halfback Mitchell Moses, while the Tigers have put forward a contract worth around $1.5 million per-season.
