‘Hard to replace’: The former Panthers star who will be ‘sorely missed’ after Dogs exit

Masked Panther: Crichton is gone to the Dogs – The Western Weekender The Western Weekender I Penrith News

Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo has declared former teammate Stephen Crichton will be the hardest player the Penrith outfit have been forced to replace in years.

Ivan Cleary’s side have won three-straight premiershipships and rival clubs consistently come knocking, hoping to recruit top talent.

Viliame Kikau, Matt Burton, Api Koroisau and Kurt Capewell have departed in recent seasons, while Spencer Leniu also joined the Roosters ahead of 2024.

While each of those stars played a crucial role in securing premierships for the Panthers, Yeo told the SMH he believes Crichton will be missed the most.

“It’s hard to replace ‘Critta’, he’s played 100 games, and his best games have all been in the biggest moments,” Yeo said.

“All the players that have left have been important for us – the boys who have been poached have all helped our success so much.

“He’s never played poorly on the Origin arena, he’s come up with big plays in grand finals, and he kicked the field-goal to put Samoa into the World Cup final. No moment is too big for him.

“It’s not just what he brought on the field in those big moments, it was off the field, too. He brought the energy, he was incredibly professional, and a good leader for a lot of the younger boys as well.

“He’ll be sorely missed.”

Taylan May has been tasked with picking up Crichton’s slack in the centres, while wing partner Sunia Turuva has been cleared of an injury suffered in the World Club Challenge.

Meanwhile, five-eighth Jarome Luai also returns from a shoulder injury, having been replaced by Jack Cole for the game against Wigan.

Crichton has since been named the Bulldogs’ new captain, taking over from Reed Mahoney who was handed the reins in 2023 by Cameron Ciraldo.

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Isaah Yeo insists Penrith won’t fall victim to a second World Club Challenge “hangover”, but history is stacked against the Panthers as they look for a strong start to another premiership defence.

With last month’s 16-12 loss to Wigan, the Panthers became the seventh Australian club in the past 20 years to travel to England for the World Club Challenge and suffer defeat.

None of those six previous travelling teams posted a winning record in the first month of the NRL season after losing to their English hosts.

Four of the six started the season 2-2, with the other two sputtering to only one win from four games.

Following their slow starts, reigning premiers Canterbury and Wests Tigers missed finals altogether in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, respectively.

By contrast, of the seven NRL teams that won the World Club Challenge in England in the same time-frame, four began their premiership defence with winning records. All seven went on to play finals.

After losing to St Helens in last year’s World Club Challenge, Penrith won only one of three games across the first month of the 2023 season.

Nathan Cleary told AAP last month that the loss left the Panthers with a “hangover” to begin 2023, though they ultimately cleaned up their act to hoist the trophy aloft for a third consecutive season.

Yeo, Penrith’s other co-captain, said the side was well-placed to avoid a repeat of last year’s slow start.

“I feel like we’ve got a better gauge of how we want to play,” he told AAP.

“Obviously there’s been evolution on both sides of the ball, not just attack but defence as well. I think we’re focused on that.

“We’re not expecting to play our best football, you never do, at the start of the season.

“But we just want to set ourselves up with a really good foundation. I feel like we showed that in the game (against Wigan).”

A tough draw will work against the Panthers – they face Melbourne, Parramatta, Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters in the first month.

Three of those sides played finals in 2023 and the other, the Eels, held a winning record over the Panthers last season.

“When you’ve got a draw like that at the start of the year, it’s going to help you set up for the back end. That’s how we’re looking at it,” Yeo said.

“You’ve got to beat everyone and you’ve got to verse (sic) everyone at some point, don’t you?”

Yeo said despite the result, the trip to England was a success for the Panthers, who had not previously travelled outside of Oceania as a squad.

“I reckon there are a bucket-load of positives,” he said.

“Clubs are spending a fortune to go on camps for three or four days.

“We were lucky enough to go and get a 10-day one over the other side of the world and experience things that we’ll probably never experience again.

“In terms of that, I think that’ll do us really good. The result, too, that probably helps spur us on.”