A beautiful defensive mind: How Stephen Crichton can mark two players at once

The Age

5 hours ago

'And I see it every day at training. I'm the one he makes look bad when we run left [edge] against right [edge] drills. It gets very old, very quickly trying to pick Critta's defence apart, he's just so good.'
As Crichton slowly, patiently explains the nuances of his craft, you get some sense of just how he pulls off grand final winning intercepts, leads a defensive revolution at Canterbury and marks two elite Origin opponents at once.
All while giving away very little, which must be how opposition playmakers feel, even when they seemingly hold all the cards with one-man advantage.
The enemy: A different cue for every player
The best NRL ball players will bluff defenders with eye contact – locking eyes with an opponent or darting their own one way and passing another. They'll do it with body language, dummying and squaring hips and shoulders to hold a defensive line at bay, or drawing them into an ill-timed rush.
Crichton, in response, keeps his powder dry. Not least with a recorder under his nose.
'Oh no, no I can't tell you that, man,' the Bulldogs skipper laughs.
'But to be honest, it's a little bit of everything, and mostly, a lot of extra work in terms of knowing the players you're up against. There's no set piece or single bit of body language or cue that I look for, because every player's different, right?
'Kalyn Ponga is such a different threat to Daly Cherry-Evans. You can't defend them the same way.
'If you try to defend things the same way every time, you're pre-empting it and offering the attack the chance to pick you apart. I guess being predictable goes both ways.'
The genetics and grounding: 360 degrees and dinner plate hands
Crichton's rare athleticism – he stands at 193cm and weighs 99kg – plays a significant, imposing role in defence. Physically, he can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the game.
The 24-year-old's first coach at Penrith, Ben Harden, encouraged Crichton's juggling of AFL (he trialled with GWS Giants), basketball (again, he trialled for the Australian schoolboys side) and rugby league as a teen.
The grounding in 360-degree games undoubtedly helped build the spatial awareness Crichton prizes highly.
'Knowing what's happening around each player, how much room they have to move, that spatial awareness is really important and something you can learn,' he says.
'That's a big focus for me at training – knowing what's going on around me. It's something Ciro [Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo] drills home as well.'
Burton adds: 'Don't forget those big lanky arms and dinner plate hands. 'He's got an extra foot on other defenders that you have to think about when you're passing.'
The decisions: Hold 'em, fold 'em
Zeroing in on the 10 minutes of Origin I when Crichton held the Blues right wing on his own, his ability to make the right call stood plain as day. Just as it has countless times already for first Penrith, NSW and now Canterbury.
Ciraldo's defensive systems at both clubs have been founded on having options A, B and C to respond to attacking shapes and curveballs – be it a line break, dropped ball or missed tackle.
Crichton defends like he has these responses written down his arm. And invariably, makes the right call on which defence to deploy.
'I try and see the play coming from as far out as possible,' he says.
'And if you can rush in and stop an attacking play before it gets too dangerous, then you do.
'But it takes a lot of trust and understanding of what the defenders either side of you are going to do as well. And that doesn't mean you always react as soon as you see a play.
'You might wait until the right time to make your move, too – it could be right up until the play rolls out, and then you're sliding and using the sideline as an extra defender or holding up until your teammates get there to help'.
Queensland's two best attacking opportunities against the 12-man Blues went in such fashion.
With Zac Lomax noting 'Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton have defended alongside each other forever', Crichton's faith in Cleary had him back-pedalling when Ponga and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow came calling in the 54th minute.
Rather than rushing in to shut down play, Cleary is trusted to handle Tabuai-Fidow as time and space dwindle while Crichton covers winger Valentine Holmes as well.
When a similar shape unfolds a moment later from a Maroons scrum, Crichton is this time up and forcing a mistimed pass from Cameron Munster. Holmes is then held up as he tries to find the turf, and six NSW teammates end up playing stacks on as the veteran flyer is shoved into touch.
Queensland – with a one-man advantage but their attack severely out-of-sorts – don't come calling again.
The intercepts: A false economy
Crichton has previously pinpointed a one-on-one trouncing he copped from one-time teammate Waqa Blake in 2020 as the turning point for his defensive focus.
With video rolling of Blake swatting Crichton away, he and Ciraldo identified there and then what it would take to make him the game's best defensive centre.
The same process was behind the 2021 grand final intercept that will keep Cody Walker awake at night for as long as it is remembered.
'People remember the intercepts and think of me as 'the intercept guy',' Crichton says.
'But to me, you can't really defend thinking 'intercept'. That brings you undone. Intercepts happen in a rush and are really a bit of [an] all or nothing gamble. And if you defend that way looking for it, you're going to get nothing most of the time.
'You go looking for the intercept, you're telegraphing and showing what you're doing. And that's when they skin ya. You've shown your cards too early.