Source :- THE AGE NEWS
The person who knows perhaps more than any other what it means for Angus Crichton to reach 200 NRL games will be impossible to miss inside Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
Crichton’s wife, Chloe, came into the Sydney Roosters forward’s life at its most tumultuous time.
A physiotherapist from Manchester, Chloe met Crichton while he was playing at the 2022 World Cup with the Kangaroos in England.
“He told me he was a barber,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘Are barbers always this big?’”
A month after they met, Crichton was escorted to a psychiatric ward in the south of France by local police after experiencing a manic episode related to undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He was later released and continued his treatment at a facility back in Australia.
Crichton himself did not want to be a burden to Chloe, given they had just met, and knew the easiest thing was for her to walk away.
Angus Crichton takes time out with his wife, Chloe, ahead of his 200th NRL game on Friday night.Credit: Andrew Quilty
But she stuck by him. For that, Crichton will forever be grateful.
That’s probably why he describes the past three years, with Chloe by his side, as the most satisfying of his NRL career.
“My wife would have been around for about a quarter of all my games, and they are the games I’m proudest of,” Crichton said. “Having her by my side definitely makes it sweeter.
“The easiest option for her was to ditch this bloke she had met a month or so earlier, when I was locked in a psychiatric ward. But she somehow saw the good in me to stay in contact. She eventually ended up my girlfriend, then wife, now the [soon-to-be] mother of our child.”
Angus and Chloe Crichton at their home in Queens Park.Credit: Andrew Quilty
After watching the pair pose for a photo at their Queens Park home this week, Chloe, who is 37 weeks pregnant, revealed why she had no appetite to leave Crichton when he was in such a vulnerable state.
“Angus got flown home to Australia, I was still in England, so it was very virtual – which made it easier for me because I wasn’t in it, and I didn’t see [what was happening],” Chloe said.
“We would FaceTime. I was talking to him and being the ‘ears’. Mum and Dad were a big factor in that.
“My dad, Clem, lost his brother to mental health, and he told me how if he [his brother] had someone to talk to, it might have been different. So, ‘Whatever is going on with this guy, just keep talking to him’, Dad told me.
Angus Crichton takes on his old club South Sydney on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
“Angus turned it around. He’s been amazing. For him, this [milestone] was never in doubt. Other people wrote him off [at the time]. It’s not that I didn’t care, but I just wanted him to get better rather than carry on in the NRL.
“He had already done a lot, he had pretty much ticked off everything. This is a bonus. He’s super head strong, super heart strong, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
When you suggest Crichton’s is the ultimate comeback story, Chloe – who is in no condition to jump the fence and storm the pitch should South Sydney’s Alex Johnston break the try-scoring record – pauses. “I suppose it is,” she says, “but I’m not sure he would see it like that.”
It took Crichton more than a year before he was comfortable enough to publicly discuss his breakdown. While proud of his achievements in rugby league, he gets just as much satisfaction from knowing his story might help the next person doing it tough.
Angus and Chloe Crichton are expecting their first child, a boy, in the next few weeks.Credit: Andrew Quilty
“If I can help someone feel more comfortable, or to feel more normal or seen, that’s a positive for me,” Crichton said.
“I’m super blessed to live the life I live, rugby league has given me everything. To play 200 games, there’s been a lot of reflection, and a lot of people I need to thank.”
Crichton made a point of praising Michael Maguire, the coach who lured him from rugby and signed him for South Sydney more than a decade ago.
Crichton will return to the 15-man code at the end of the season on a two-year deal, to chase his dream of playing for the Wallabies at next year’s World Cup.
Crichton can still remember his debut, in round 19, 2016, against the Brisbane Broncos.
“Adam Reynolds got pulled out early in the warm-up,” Crichton said. “They put John Sutton to left half, I was coming off the bench, and ‘Madge’ said to me, ‘Just be ready to play big minutes’.
“I played about 60 minutes. I got a heap of ball. The night before, I was so nervous and worried I’d be too light, I kept eating to put on weight.
“I remember I tackled Sam Thaiday and he was like, ‘Good tackle, mate’. And even to play with a guy like Sam Burgess, he came up to me afterwards and told me it was a great debut.
“Sam was my locker buddy at training. He was an absolute freak of a player – I don’t know if we’ll see another player like him in our time – and to debut with him, Greg Inglis, Reyno, Sutto, it was so surreal. I can’t believe it was 11 years ago.”
Souths captain Cam Murray, who was also a schoolboy rugby star and a regular on the Wallabies’ radar – said of Crichton: “Angus was a good mentor for me, and being in similar positions as young kids, he taught me a lot about the mentality and commitment you needed to have to play first grade.
“He’s always had that quiet confidence and arrogance in the way he plays, and that’s what makes him great.”
