Roosters star Angus Crichton has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is on indefinite leave from the sport.
Crichton’s father, Charlie, released a statement on Thursday that confirmed the NSW and Australia representative player was receiving treatment.
“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,” Charlie Crichton said as per reports on Nine News.
“He is fully supported by his family, his management and the Sydney Roosters club as he works towards recovery.
“While no timeline has been set for his return to rugby league, we will continue to trust his medical team and know those within the rugby league community will respect his right to privacy during this time.”
It was reported that Crichton had seen a number of specialists before the diagnosis was made and the Roosters have granted a leave of absence.
His absence has been the source of speculation before his father’s statement.
“We’ve just been supporting him, he’s going through some things at the moment. We can’t really go into detail, but we’re supporting him and hopefully, he can be back at training,” captain James Tedesco said recently.
“He’s an important part of our team. He was one of the best back-rowers in the game last year. We miss him, and we want him out there playing with us.”
Crichton, 27, was a member of the Kangaroos squad at the World Cup at the end of the 2022 season.
Meanwhile, Tedesco has issued a warning to the Sydney Roosters’ early-season opponents, with the NRL club putting an emphasis on a fast start and beating their round-one curse.
Favourites for their opening-round matches in every season dating back to 2018, the Roosters have walked away with just one round-one win in that time.
The four season-opening losses include a shock defeat to Wests Tigers at the start of 2018, as well a 20-6 humbling from the lowly-ranked Newcastle to start 2022.
And the Roosters have decided enough is enough.
It’s part of the reason why coach Trent Robinson gave minutes to part of his first grade team in their opening trial, before running out all fit players against Manly last week.
That second trial ultimately ended in defeat, but the Roosters are clear they would rather disappointment now than on March 5 against the Dolphins.
“It’s probably become a trait of ours to start the year slowly,” Tedesco admitted.
“We have earmarked that we want to start the season strong. We have a bye in round four, so we want to get the year off to a good start.
“We weren’t happy with that trial, but sometimes that was happening in round one. And we were scrambling for the first three rounds trying to work out what went wrong.
“We played the trial, we were disappointed with it. But it’s a positive we have a couple of weeks to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen in round one.”
The Roosters know they have the chance to be genuine premiership contenders again, with recruit Brandon Smith labelling their roster the best in the NRL this week.
But Tedesco has pointed to last season as to why a fast start is crucial.
The club were beaten by fellow-finalists South Sydney in round three, and then upset by the out-of-form St George Illawarra on Anzac Day and Canterbury a week later.
It left them out of the top four for all but one week of the season, and needing to win the majority of their post-State of Origin matches to make the finals.
By the time the Roosters reached the finals they were injury-ravaged, and with no second chance available were knocked out by the Rabbitohs.
“We needed a couple of wins at the start of the year to get us in the top four,” Tedesco said.
“And we were still scambling for top eight with four or six rounds to go.
“Usually I have a week off, but I had to play every game because we were still fighting for a spot. That shows the importance of getting the wins early.”
Catherine Brown
Guest
Good luck Angus. sound like you have a great support group around you. Hope to see you back out on the field when you are ready
Short Memory
Roar Rookie
Not the time. Read the room. Save your paranoia and bitterness for another time.
Rob
Guest
Not a comment from the Cowboys supporting Rob. Wishing Angus good health.
Rob
Guest
‘Say what you want about the Roosters’ :thumbup: They are the Sombrero Club. Always buying top players & the top up & comers. Buying their way to titles . Perpetually overspend & get away with it .
JennyFromPenny
Guest
The article paints it's own picture of society, needing to try extra hard to convince that conditions affecting state of mind, mood, and behaviour are genuine. Sadly, there are still plenty out there that are non-believers simply asking of someone is ok, or do they need some cheering up is all there is to it and not medical at all. Sadly plenty who will strangely also believe that the Earth is flat, that Smallpox went away on it's own, that Rubella and Whooping cough just can't be protected against.
Poss
Roar Rookie
Such a shock to hear..Wishing him all the best..Good luck with his treatment & hope to see him back at the Chookies real soon..We fans & supporters are going to really miss him....Such a great player..
Contego
Roar Rookie
I'm a touch confused about the headline since Bi Polar is a medical condition. Would you say that he had a medically diagnosed broken leg? One positive from the post is that the majority of the comments, excluding the first part of the post by ImperialWizard, have been reasonable. I hope he sticks with the treatment process and it goes well for him.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I hadn’t heard the rumours until this week Horrible… it’s such a fkn cheap shot
Broken Shoulder
Roar Rookie
Horrible accusations that if you had any knowledge on a bipolar diagnosis, you wouldn’t even mention. Awful people and it’s a shame they exist in the first place. Cheers, Sam.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Brilliantly said Noel. Certainly warms the heart to see so many Roarers give shout outs to the likes of Gus and Pat Cummins who are doing it tough.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Broken, I havent seen them and Im glad I havent. Strewth he achieved all he has with that condition undiagnosed? He must be made of titanium. Sure he will get the best of care and the supports put in place make his life a lot easier. On ya, Gus
Noel
Roar Rookie
Say what you want about the Roosters... And I often do... But they have an excellent track record of looking after their players off the field. Good luck to him and look forward to seeing him back in action.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
I hope he gets the treatment, support and counsel to help him manage it. He seems like a good person so i wish him all the luck and hope he can come back and footy can provide him with some stability in his life when he is ready. Been some real tragedy around the Roosters club this off season but they seem to look after their people so i am sure he has the best of support from the club and his family.
Heyou
Roar Rookie
Glad to hear he has strong support base. Hang in there Angus and lean on your people when you need support. Love surrounds you.
Wayne Turner
Guest
I applaud Angus Crichton for this. He must be going through a tough time,it takes alot to seek this type of help.Being in the public eye would be tough too,when dealing with this. Also, Congratulations to him,for seeking help when needed. Unlike those who do the wrong thing,THEN try to excuse what they did by claiming they have a mental illness.It is an insult to those struggling with a mental illness,and is a bad look. (Mental illness does not cause bad/criminal behaviour.). Good luck and all the best to Angus Crichton ✌️????????
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Always seems like a really decent young bloke and is a hell of a player.. I’ve had a couple of close mates who suffered the condition and I know how debilitating it can be. Luckily he seems like he has a great support network around him and the treatments are continuing to improve.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
How awful to know someone is one minute celebrating the high of a world cup victory in their first kangaroo tour of the UK, and inside somewhere, also feeling the lowest of lows.
Broken Shoulder
Roar Rookie
It's pretty disgusting, and I'm still seeing those rumours being spread in comments on various platforms.
Dutski
Roar Guru
Hats off to the family for openness - the more we acknowledge and accept mental health is part of life the better for everyone. Hope Angus is getting the help he needs - that’s the priority.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Angus is some footy player. He is among the elite forwards in our game. I really do hope his treatment goes well and we get to see him play again.