Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler have urged NSW to drop Stephen Crichton for Origin Game 2 and hand the centres to Casey McLean, putting the 20-year-old Panthers backline hopeful into the middle of the state’s biggest selection call.
The push matters now because McLean has turned recent form into a genuine case for promotion. He was superb off the bench for NSW in Game 1, then backed it up last Sunday with two tries for the Panthers in their win over the Warriors. Johns said McLean “has to start”, while Fittler backed that view by saying the teenager should be shifted straight into the centres.
Crichton’s place is under pressure despite his role in Game 1, when he set up a try for debutant Ethan Strange in NSW’s comeback win over Queensland. Johns still argued that was not enough to keep him safe, and Fittler was even more direct, saying Crichton looked like he needed a rest after the shoulder injury that had already forced him out of games earlier in the season. Fittler said he would rather hold Crichton back for Game 3 than risk running him through another match while carrying the problem.
That leaves NSW with a selection call that goes beyond one centre spot. Mitch Moses is expected back at five-eighth after missing Game 1 with a hamstring injury and sitting out the King's Birthday clash against the Bulldogs on Monday, while Johns and Fittler also floated other changes, including Payne Haas returning to start at prop and Cameron Murray moving to lock. Crichton, though, is the friction point: a player who helped shape Game 1, but one two of the game’s sharpest judges now want rested before he is ready. The final NSW team for Game 2 will show whether the Blues value current form more than reputation, or whether they decide the shoulder injury has already answered that for them.
