Stephen Crichton felt the full force of a Dale Finucane tackle as Penrith came from behind to defeat Cronulla in a blockbuster showdown on Saturday.
The Sharks lock came flying off the line and smashed Crichton with a bone-rattling tackle, which sent the Panthers centre flying into the turf.
Finucane hit Crichton with his right forearm and did not wrap his left arm around him in the tackle, with the impact folding the Panthers young gun.
Stephen Crichton (right) suffered a gruesome ear injury after being hit by Dale Finucane (left)
Tempers briefly flared following the tackle, which resulted in Crichton being withdrawn for a head injury assessment, with Panthers players pleading with referee Ashley Klein to penalise Finucane.
Cronulla’s hardman, however, escaped without being placed on report while Crichton did not return to the field.He looked dazed and was visibly bleeding from his left ear.
‘[Finucane] Clearly [made] contact with the head. That was like a car crash. It’s weird that that’s OK,’ Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said after the game.
Crichton was one of Penrith’s State of Origin cartel to shrug off New South Wales’s series heartbreak to lead the Panthers to convincing win at BlueBet Stadium.
Tempers flared after the tackle left Crichton on the turf as the doctors attended to him
The Sharks hardman escaped without being placed on report by referee Ashley Klein
Crichton was left bleeding and dazed by the crunching tackle and went off for an HIA
Fresh off a seven-day break after the series-deciding loss in Queensland, Jarome Luai starred as all seven of Panthers’ Origin players played significant roles in the win.
The victory lifted the Panthers to 10 points clear at the top of the NRL ladder, meaning they could potentially wrap up the minor premiership in the next fortnight.
Cronulla meanwhile lost no admirers in the defeat, jumping out to a 10-0 lead early and containing Penrith’s usually razor-sharp attack for the most part.
Penrith had five times as many play-the-balls in the attacking red-zone as Cronulla, but the Sharks managed to hold them to just three tries.
Jarome Luai was back to his best after a disappointing display in Origin III ten days ago
The Sharks will remain in third place, and leave Penrith confident they can challenge them come finals after threatening to pull off their best win of the year.
With signs of sluggishness showing from the Panthers early, Cronulla’s first came when Connor Tracey spun and pushed his way through four defenders.
Matt Moylan then had the gap out to 10 points when he ran onto a Blayke Brailey pass and was ruled to have got the ball down on the line.
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