A rogue internet dater is trying to use NRL star Angus Crichton’s fame to bolster his love life, the new Roosters recruit revealed.

The 22-year-old, who left South Sydney to link up with the Tricolours in 2019, said someone has been using pictures of him in a fake Tinder profile to try and woo women.

“I actually need to get on top of it, I’ve been meaning to for a while,” Crichton said on the Hello Sports podcast. “There’s this one dude, I don’t know who it is, but he’s made a fake Tinder profile.

“So I’ll actually get messages once or twice a week from people saying, ‘Hey why did you stop talking to me?’

“This one chick actually sent me all these screenshots of what the guy was saying to her (pretending he was Crichton) and she’s like, ‘Can you delete those pictures that I sent of me to you?’

“And he was talking as if he was me. I was sick in the finals series and he was saying, ‘Oh I’ve lost my voice. I cant talk.’

“He’d taken screenshots and videos of one of my teammate’s (social media profiles) on our boat on our Mad Monday and he’d sent it to her saying, ‘Oh yeah, look we’re on the harbour.’”

Crichton made his State of Origin debut this year as the Blues broke through for a rare series win and the back-rower will be looking to add to his representative tally next season when he takes the field for the Roosters.

He made his first grade debut for the Rabbitohs in 2016 and will avoid all the drama around the coaching swap between Anthony Seibold and Wayne Bennett.

But Crichton admitted he was scared of telling Souths owner and Hollywood celebrity Russell Crowe of his intention to leave Redfern.

media_camera Angus Crichton will be in different colours next season.

“He knew I was coming but I think he thought I was going up there to just catch up for a dinner or something, Crichton said.

“He’s a really good dude. I couldn’t say a bad word about him and the way that he took the news and the way he reacted was very professional and a testament to him.

“I was absolutely s**tting myself. I’ve seen him do some stuff before which I won’t repeat but I was just like, ‘I don’t know how he could take this. I don’t know how he could react.’

“But I’m happy with the way I did it, sticking to my contract and going up there and telling them face-to-face and making sure that I told them and the first time they heard it, it was from me.”

The Roosters, who won last season’s grand final, are frontrunners in the premiership betting race but are expected to face stiff competition from Crichton’s former club now Bennett is at the helm.

Rabbitohs enforcer Sam Burgess admitted the bar had been lifted following last season’s preliminary final finish, and Bennett’s experience could prove telling.

“We’ll be setting the bar pretty high. I thought we were very close last year but close isn’t good enough,” Burgess told reporters on Monday. “It’s possible (a title). There haven’t been many changes.

“We lose Angus (Crichton) and Jason Clarke. It gives an opportunity for a couple of players. We’ll wait and see. Wayne will bring his own spin and bring some experience.

“It’s a long way away from that time of year. We’ll just keep working hard.”

Originally published as Footy star caught in awkward Tinder trap