After securing the services of gun Penrith centre Stephen Crichton for 2024, Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo rolled the dice on immediately handing the captaincy to the marquee recruit.
It’s proved a masterstroke, with the 23-year-old triple NRL premiership winner relishing the leadership role and guiding the long-suffering club to their first finals series in eight years.
Chrichton’s elevation to the Bulldogs’ captaincy in the latest chapter in rugby league’s story of young skippers.
Dave Brown
An out-and-out rugby league prodigy, Brown was installed as Eastern Suburbs’ club captain at the preposterously young age of 19.
The brilliant centre had just turned 21 when he skippered NSW in 1934, while he remains Australia’s youngest-ever Test captain after leading his country against New Zealand at 22 years and 177 days the following season.
Brown guided the Tricolours to consecutive titles in 1935-36 before being lured to Leeds as a 23-year-old. Nicknamed ‘The Bradman of League’, he still holds premiership records for most points in a game (45) and most tries in a season (38), and was named one of the first pre-WWII Immortals in 2018.
Neville Smith
Former Queensland forward Neville Smith joined St George in 1939. Despite being just 22 years of age, he was given the captain-coach duties in his first season at the club. Smith debuted for NSW in 1940, before captain-coaching the Saints to their maiden premiership the following season.
Roy Bull
A first-grade debutant at just 17 and a Test prop a few months after turning 20, rugged front-rower Roy Bull was made captain-coach of Manly in 1953 aged just 23. He was replaced as coach the following season but retained the captaincy for another couple of years.
Reg Gasnier
Brilliant St George centre Reg Gasnier and future Immortal became the youngest captain in Anglo-Australian Test history in 1962, aged 23 years and 28 days. He was replaced by Keith Barnes after the 31-12 first Test loss to Great Britain but later skippered the 1967-68 Kangaroos.
Bob Fulton
Fulton was earmarked for greatness after arriving at Manly from Wollongong in 1966. A dazzling five-eighth/centre, he captained City Firsts while still a teenager the following year and was the Sea Eagles’ 20-year-old skipper in their 1968 grand final loss to Souths.
Future Immortal ‘Bozo’ played under hooker Fred Jones’ leadership in Manly’s 1972-73 premierships but had the (c) next to his name as the Sea Eagles outlasted Parramatta in 1976 decider – his last match for the club before joining Easts.
Phil Gould
Long-serving Englishman Mick Stephenson’s retirement early in 1978 saw 20-year-old back-rower Phil Gould installed as Penrith captain – in just his second run-on game in first grade.
He relinquished the role to veteran Gary Pethybridge the following season, but it was an illustration of the football nous that led to Gould becoming one of the great coaches after his 104-game career ended.
At 30, ‘Gus’ became the youngest non-playing coach to win a premiership, steering Canterbury to grand final glory at his first attempt in 1988.
Craig Young
Powerful St George prop Craig Young won a premiership in his maiden first grade season with ‘Bath’s Babes’ in 1977, before replacing grand final-winning captain Steve Edge as skipper two years later at the age of 22.
‘Albert’ turned 23 during the ’79 campaign and led the Dragons to another grand final success at the end of the season.
Wally Lewis
When 36-year-old incumbent Arthur Beetson was ruled out of Queensland’s side for the 1981 one-off Origin match through injury, the selectors went to the other end of the age spectrum for a new captain.
Precocious 21-year-old five-eighth Lewis led the Maroons to a come-from-behind victory – and went on to become one of the great representative skippers, taking on the Australian captaincy aged 24 for the 1984 Ashes series.
‘King’ Wally ultimately captained Queensland in 30 of his 31 Origin appearances and Australia in 24 consecutive Tests.
Craig Grauf
Fiery ex-Queensland halfback Greg Oliphant sprung one of the great selection surprises as coach of BRL club Norths in 1986, naming 18-year-old Craig Grauf as halfback and captain. Grauf had made just one appearance – as a wing replacement – in a pre-season match prior to his stunning call-up.
Grauf is best known as the player who put up the bomb for Brisbane Broncos’ first-ever try in the premiership in 1988, while after eight years out of the limelight he resurfaced with Gold Coast Chargers in 1996.
Laurie Daley
Bradley Clyde was touted as the next NSW skipper after touring Papua New Guinea in 1991 as Australia’s vice-captain at just 21 years of age.
But when the Canberra lock declined the role, the Blues opted for a player just three months his senior – 22-year-old clubmate Daley. The champion five-eighth captained NSW to three straight series wins from 1992-94, while he led Australia in one Test in ’93, aged 23.
Brad Fittler
A grand final try-scorer and the youngest-ever Kangaroo tourist in 1990, Fittler always seemed a player with on-field maturity well beyond his years, despite his larrikin reputation off it.
‘Freddie’ was a 20-year-old fill-in captain for Penrith in 1992 but he was forced to develop rapidly as a leader after the outbreak of the Super League war in ’95, assuming the NSW and Australia posts. The 23-year-old led the green-and-golds to a memorable World Cup triumph that year.
Roosters talisman Fittler skippered the Blues in 14 Origins and the Kangaroos in 25 Tests, while he became the first player in history to play 200 first-grade games as captain.
Nathan Cayless
With the likes of Jim Dymock and Jason Smith taking their hats out of the ring, Parramatta coach Brian Smith sprung a shock by making 21-year-old Nathan Cayless captain in 2000.
The New Zealand Test prop flourished in the role, however, leading the Kiwis for the first time the following season soon after turning 23.
The Eels’ grand final skipper in 2001 and ’09, Cayless became the first player to captain one club in 200 first-grade games and helmed the Kiwis’ euphoric 2008 World Cup success.
Cameron Smith
The 22-year-old Smith was the youngest member of Melbourne’s novel five-man captaincy rotation in 2006 and was given the honour of leading the Storm into that year’s grand final.
Craig Bellamy made Smith the sole skipper midway through 2007 and he was still only 24 when he deputised for the injured Darren Lockyer as captain of Australia and Queensland in ’08.
The legendary hooker, who led the Maroons in 21 Origins and the Kangaroos in 33 Tests, captained the Storm more than 300 times before hanging up the boots in 2020.
Simon Mannering
At the start of the 2010 season Warriors coach Ivan Cleary sprung the shock decision to take the captaincy off veteran prop Steve Price and hand it to ultra-consistent 23-year-old backrower/centre Mannering.
The strong, silent type, Mannering led the Warriors to a grand final appearance in 2011. He took over the Kiwis captaincy in 2013 but stepped down from the club role ahead of the 2016 NRL campaign.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
In a move reminiscent of Cleary’s Mannering call, incoming Warriors coach Stephen Kearney raised some eyebrows by replacing veteran Ryan Hoffman as skipper with 23-year-old fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for 2017.
Tuivasa-Sheck developed into one of the code’s most impressive leaders, winning the Dally M Medal in 2018 and Dally M Captain of the Year honours in 2020 after guiding the Warriors through the first season of their arduous COVID-19 odyssey.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
With Tuivasa-Sheck unavailable, Kiwis coach Michael Maguire produced a left-field call by naming his fullback replacement, Penrith’s Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, as Test captain for the 2018 post-season showdown with Australia.
The great-grandson of 1930s great Steve Watene, the first Māori player to captain New Zealand, DWZ had only turned 23 weeks earlier but led by example in a stellar performance that was integral to a 26-24 upset of the Kangaroos at Mt Smart Stadium.
Nathan Cleary
Following the exit of James Tamou after he led Penrith in the 2020 grand final, coach Ivan Cleary bestowed the Panthers’ co-captaincy on 23-year-old son Nathan and back-rower Isaah Yeo.
The pair subsequently guided the Panthers to the first premiership threepeat in 40 years.