Roosters coach Trent Robinson says he’s not worried about opposition teams sledging Angus Crichton, who returns to rugby league this week after stepping away to deal with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Crichton, a regular in NSW and Australian teams, will make his return through the NSW Cup this Saturday when the Roosters take on the Newtown Jets at Henson Park.
Robinson, who has coached Crichton for all five of his seasons at the eastern suburbs club, said the NRL had been very accepting and compassionate of Crichton’s diagnosis.
“To be honest, I think our game has been very good with that, and our players have been, right across the board, all teams, have been really good about [it],” Robinson said.
“We’re human, we’re imperfect, and I think there’s no better place than rugby league to know that’s the case, and people accept that. We often have people around us and stories of family and friends, so I just think he will be straight back into it as normal.”
Angus Crichton posing for fans before watching the Roosters play the Eels in round five.Credit: Getty
Crichton took an indefinite leave of absence ahead of the season starting this year, with his father Charlie making a statement on his son’s behalf.
“I can confirm today that Angus is under appropriate professional support and treatment for medically diagnosed bipolar disorder, which he has been dealing with for some time,” the statement read.
“He is fully supported by his family, his management and the Sydney Roosters club as he works towards recovery.”
Crichton returned to training in late March, and was spotted on the sidelines, posing for photos with fans, at the Roosters round five clash against the Eels.
While his timeline to return to rugby league was fluid, and completely up to him, Robinson said he expected Crichton to play 50-80 minutes this weekend to gauge where forward is at.
“He’s been in really good shape, he’s been really good at training. So it’s time to start playing. He missed a lot of that pre-season period, and you can’t replicate that during the season, so we need to ramp it up through reserve grade,” Robinson said.
Asked whether it would be long before Crichton made his return to the NRL, Robinson said he didn’t think so.
“Not from what I’ve seen. Physically he’s in really good shape, so I don’t think it will be too long. A good indication will be the weekend’s game, but I feel like it won’t be too long.”
