Sydney Roosters forward Angus Crichton has moved to address rumours he could leave the club for Rugby 360 or another NRL side at the end of 2026.
Crichton is free to negotiate with rival outfits from November 1; however, a report surfaced over the weekend that the New South Wales State of Origin forward wouldn’t consider playing for rival NRL outfits.
He would, however, weigh up a move to rugby union if the right deal arrived on the table.
The forward, appearing on Channel 9‘s Wide World of Sports program, said he wasn’t focusing on his future at this stage, and instead wanted to round out the 2025 season with the Roosters.
“To be completely honest, especially at this time of year, I’m just so focused on playing footy for the Roosters,” Crichton said on Wide World of Sports.
“I know I’m there for next year and a year is a long time in footy, so I’ve just got my blinkers on, working hard and playing my best footy for the Roosters.”
The Roosters once had extreme salary cap issues, but with their key departures at the end of last year, which, to this point, have mostly not been replaced, they could offer Crichton an upgrade to convince him to stay.
No NRL club will be able to compete on the money front when it comes to the new Saudi Arabian-backed Rugby 360 competition, though, with offers of up to $2 million set to be tabled.
Crichton said the new competition, though, was all whispers.
“For sure, but at this point, it’s nothing but a whisper. I think until there is anything signed you aren’t going to see guys putting their hand up saying I’m going to go and do this, but the amount of cash they are throwing around is honestly going to [be] perking ears up,” he said.
“They are talking about one and a half, two million dollars for these players, but at this point in time, it’s just a whisper.”
The rugby competition is already rumoured to have made approaches for the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Zac Lomax, Jaydn Su’A and Ryan Papenhuyzen, among others, with a full-scale raid on the NRL potentially set to be launched.
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