Roosters coach Trent Robinson believes rugby league is the best place for Angus Crichton as the representative star bids to return from a lay-off to deal with a diagnosis for bipolar disorder.
Crichton will play reserve grade this weekend as he bids to come back into first grade in the coming weeks.
“The plan is for him to get started and go back and play back row and somewhere between 50 to 80 minutes depending on how the game goes,” Robinson said of Crichton.
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“We will see how the game goes, but just to get him back going.
“He has been in really good shape. He has been really good at training, so it is 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 and him with a couple of other guys as well.”
Robinson revealed Crichton has kept in really good shape physically, so it won’t be too long before he is back in first grade.
“Physically he is in really good shape, so I don’t think it will be too long,” Robinson said.
“A good indication will be the weekend’s game, but I feel like it won’t be too long.”
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Robinson paid tribute to Crichton’s Roosters teammates and the wider rugby league community for their response to his diagnosis becoming public knowledge.
“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.
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“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.”
Crichton took an indefinite leave of absence ahead of the start of the 2023 season, with his father Charlie making a statement on his son’s behalf.
“I can confirm 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.”
