Stephen Crichton showed why he is considered the best centre in the game having caused havoc on the right side for NSW, and his performance has made a mockery of Blues legend Andrew Johns’ selection call. Crichton won the plaudits from fans in State of Origin Game 1 after stamping his authority on a hapless Queensland side.
The NSW forwards – led by Payne Haas – dominated the middle of the field with Zac Lomax and Brian To’o continuing the momentum on the kick returns to leave Queensland pinned in their own half for large ports of the game. And while Crichton was a major doubt leading into the game with a corked thigh, the centre showed no signs of injury when taking to the field.
Crichton recorded the try assist for the first four-pointer having dodged the onrushing Queensland defence and threw a bullet pass to Lomax to open the scoring. The Bulldogs centre was steely in defence as well having made a number of crucial tackles to deny Queensland’s dangerous left edge.
NSW coach Laurie Daley knew how important Crichton was to the team and gave him right up until the day of the game at Suncorp to play. And Crichton repaid the faith of his coach with a trademark performance.
However, his efforts also made a mockery of Johns’ selection call ahead of Game 1. Johns might be one of the brightest minds in the game, but he snubbed Crichton from his NSW side when selecting the team on Channel Nine a few weeks ago.
Crichton has captained the Bulldogs to the top of the NRL table in 2025 and was in unreal from leading into Game 1. His player-of-the-match performance against Canberra only two weeks out from Origin Game 1 had most people praising the centre. Although Johns opted to select Manly Sea Eagles fullback Tom Trbojevic in the centres.
This was a controversial move considering Trbojevic has battled injuries in 2025 and has yet to find his form. While Johns is a big fan of Trbojevic and his work at fullback, his call to leave Crichton out certainly stuck in the minds of fans. Many were quick to remind Johns of his pre-match call after Game 1 at Suncorp.
Andrew Johns calls for Daly Cherry-Evans to be dropped
Johns has also made another big selection call ahead of Game 2 having claimed Queensland coach Billy Slater needs to mix things up. The Blues were utterly dominant and the scoreline even flattered Queensland with NSW only converting one of four conversions.
Queensland’s attack looked clunky with Cherry-Evans, Harry Grant and Cameron Munster failing to link up. And Johns feels it could be time for Slater to tap Cherry-Evans on the shoulder and replace him with the more energetic Tom Dearden.
“Look, no one beats Father Time and DCE is what, (36)? I think they have to pull the trigger and bring Dearden in,” Johns said during Channel Nine commentary. “I don’t know where the improvement comes with this group.
“NSW, if they were on tonight, they they win by 40 or 50. They left so many tries out there and they’ll be better for that. “I don’t know if they can go up another level, Queensland. I think there has to be changes with (Canberra prop) Corey Horsburgh, he’s one I think can add something. (South Sydney forward) Jai Arrow is an Origin player, but the big one is Dearden and whether they pull the trigger on Dearden with DCE.”
Cherry-Evans isn’t ready to give up the Maroons jersey though and admitted he wanted another opportunity of redemption. “Yeah, definitely. I guess with losing comes the question,” he said. “So we’ve opened ourselves up to these sorts of questions, but I’d love the opportunity to come back and correct it.”