Kangaroos forward Angus Crichton predicts it will take him a month to return to his best but is confident he would be ready for Origin I and revealed he has been in contact with NSW coach Brad Fittler.
A nervous Crichton played his first NRL match of the season in the ANZAC Day clash with St George Illawarra after taking time away from the game to deal with mental health issues and said he had initially struggled to get involved.
After playing 64 minutes on the right edge in the Roosters' 27-26 win, Crichton said he would continue to improve in coming weeks as his fitness increased but wasn’t focussed on Blues selection at this stage.
“I’m not even thinking about Origin,” Crichton said. “There are some really good players putting their hand up at the minute who are in peak condition.
“I’ll be continually working on my cardio and strength, so it will probably take me a month, I think. I don’t want to rush it, I don’t want to push myself, and put crazy expectations on myself. I’ll keep chipping away at it every week.
“Obviously I have missed a fair bit of footy, so I’ll keep building it back up brick by brick. I’ll keep working to get as fit as I can.”
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The Blues squad for the series opener in Adelaide is set to be announced on April 21, giving Crichton four more matches against the Warriors, Cowboys, Panthers and Dragons to push his Origin claims.
Crichton has been a mainstay of the NSW team for the past five seasons and with fellow Kangaroos second-rower Liam Martin sidelined indefinitely by a fresh hamstring injury, Fittler will be keeping a close check on his form and health.
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“I have spoken to him,” Crichton said. “He has always been great, a big supporter of mine. We get on really well, have a good relationship, and I chat to Freddy here and there.
If he wants me to go into camp, I’ll go in there, for sure.
“I’ve been there a number of times and know what is expected. I will do whatever I need to do if I get picked.
“But my focus right now is just getting my fitness right so I can play the best footy I can for the Roosters. We have got big expectations on ourselves as a club and what we can do here.”
Crichton played 80 minutes in the previous round’s NSW Cup match against Newtown but he admitted it was a step up to play in the traditional ANZAC Day clash with St George Illawarra.
With Nat Butcher returning from suspension, he has been named on the interchange for Sunday's trip to Auckland to face the Warriors.
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“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster coming back in straight into an Anzac game, but it’s been good,” he said.
“I was nervous. I know I need to do a bit of work to get back to where I want to get to. I wasn’t as involved as I would have liked to have been. I was trying to [get involved], but it just sort of flowed around to the left a little bit.
“It was a bit of a hard one for me to get into. To get through that unscathed and go into next week, I just want to keep on building on it.”