Stephen Crichton (born 22 September 2000) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penri ...

in the NRL and

at international level. He won both the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with the Panthers. He has represented the NSW Blues in

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco O ...

Background

Crichton was born in

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. Th ...

, Samoa. He moved to New Zealand at the age of two, before his family eventually settled in Australia. He is the younger brother of

player

Christian Crichton Christian Crichton (born 12 July 1996) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for Samoa at international level. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National R ...

Early life

Crichton played his junior rugby league with

St Clair Comets St Clair Comets Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in St Clair, New South Wales formed in 1984. The club now has over 700 registered players and is considered one of the biggest clubs in the Penrith area. ...

Career

2019

Crichton made his first grade debut for Penrith against the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League ( NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leagu ...

in round 21 of the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

which ended in a 26–20 victory for Penrith at Panthers Stadium.

2020

In round 8 of the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

, Crichton scored two tries as Penrith defeated the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

19–12 at

Bankwest Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as Commonwealth Bank, CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Pa ...

. Crichton had a breakout year for Penrith in the

playing 22 games and scoring 17 tries as Penrith won the minor premiership. Crichton played in the 2020 NRL Grand Final, scoring a try in the second half as Penrith were defeated by Melbourne 26–20. For a successful individual season, Crichton was named Centre of the Year at the 2020 Dally M Awards and rewarded with a spot in the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

27-man squad although he did not play in the three game series.

2021

In round 5 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Crichton was fined $1350 by the NRL for pulling benched

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

player

Joseph Tapine Joseph Tapine pronounced () (born 4 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, and for New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Tapine prev ...

into a celebratory throng and goading him. Chrichton played a total of 26 games for Penrith in the

including the club's

2021 NRL Grand Final The 2021 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2021 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday 3 October at Suncorp Stadiu ...

victory over the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...

. Crichton scored what would be the match winning try off an intercepted Cody Walker pass as Penrith held on to win 14–12. On 19 October, Crichton was handed a proposed $4000 fine by the NRL and a breach notice which alleges that he acted contrary to the best interests of the game after he was photographed on social media acting in a disrespectful manner toward the Provan-Summons Trophy. Although Crichton nor any of the Penrith players had broken the trophy, the NRL alleged Crichton and teammate

Nathan Cleary Nathan Cleary (born 14 November 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level. He won both the 2021 and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with the Pa ...

showed disrespect towards the individuals depicted in the iconic moment on the trophy.

2022

Stephen Crichton post-match 2021 RLWC Final

In round 7 of the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

, Crichton scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...

in Penrith's 36-6 victory over Canberra. Crichton played a total of 23 games for Penrith throughout the year including the clubs 2022 NRL Grand Final victory over

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. Crichton scored the opening try in the final which finished 28-12 in Penrith's favour. In October Crichton was named in the Samoa squad for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £ ...

. In the

semi-final, Crichton scored two tries and kicked the winning drop goal for Samoa as they defeated England 27-26 in golden point extra-time at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacit ...

. He finished the tournament as the top point scorer with 73 points. Crichton played for Samoa in their Rugby League World Cup final loss to Australia. In November he was named in the

2021 RLWC Team of the Tournament 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

.Samoan domination as unlikely halfback earns No.7 jersey: WC Team of the Tournament
/ref>

Honours

Individual *

Dally M The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the be ...

Centre of The Year: 2020 Club *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

Minor Premiership Winners * 2020 NRL Grand Final Runner-up *

Winners *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

Minor Premiership Winners * 2022 NRL Grand Final Winners International * 2021 Rugby League World Cup Final

References

External links

Penrith Panthers profileSamoa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crichton, Stephen 2000 births Living people Penrith Panthers players Rugby league centres Samoan rugby league players Sportspeople from Apia Rugby league wingers New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players