Sydney Roosters forward Angus Crichton is reportedly weighing up a switch to rugby union at the end of this season.
Crichton is still on contract with the Roosters for another season, but is a chance of not seeing out his Sydney Roosters contract after a mixed year.
The forward missed pre-season and the opening exchanges of the season through mental health reasons as the NRL and club rallied behind the star forward, who played for Australia as last year's Rugby League World Cup, to ensure he received the support he needed.
His return to the NRL has seen him manage 11 games in first-grade, and he will play for the Roosters on Saturday evening against the Cronulla Sharks in the club's elimination final, but he has been well short of the lofty standards established over the majority of his NRL career.
News Corp are now reporting that multiple sources are reporting Crichton and his management have been in discussions with Rugby Australia over a switch to the 15-man code for weeks.
For Crichton to make an exit, he would need the blessing of the Roosters given he still has a year to run on his contract, and it's unclear if the club will stand in his way at this stage.
It's believed the Roosters have a contract extension on the table for the Origin and Test-experienced 27-year-old forward, who has been a key part of the tri-colours in seasons gone by across his now 152 NRL games.
The report indiciates the Roosters will not get into a bidding war for Crichton.
The forward has previously been among a host of players linked with a move to rugby union, who have ramped up their poaching efforts on the NRL with money to burn, a British and Irish Lions tour in 2025 and a World Cup in 2027.
Multiple NRL players have expressed something of an interest in making the jump, while the sport have already secured Joseph Suaalii, who will switch in 2025, although an early release from the Roosters isn't out of the question.
The second-row forward, who was born in Temora, played junior rugby league in Young before switching to rugby union where he played for Scots College in Sydney, representing the New South Wales Schools first team and the Australian Schoolboys outfit.
He then balanced the two sports during 2014 before signing with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2015 to make a permanent switch to rugby league, where he made a name for himself as one of the best forwards in the competition.
