Cronulla forward Dale Finucane and Penrith center Stephen Crichton embraced on the sidelines at BlueBet Stadium before the Panthers star was taken to hospital for emergency surgery on his left ear after a head to head with the Sharks veteran.
Panthers doctor Scott Reid worked to ensure Crichton’s ear was held together until he could undergo plastic surgery which is expected to sideline the NSW Origin center from the clash in next Friday night with Parramatta at CommBank Stadium.
Even if his ear heals in time, Crichton will have to go through the NRL’s strict HIA protocols before being cleared to return after being forced off the field in the 71st minute of the game, won 20-10 by Penrith.
French captain Ben Garcia, who had a spell with Penrith in 2016, suffered a similar injury while playing for the Catalans against Warrington in the Super League Magic Round two weeks ago and was expected to return in the this weekend against Huddersfield.
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“If you’ve seen his ear, it’s like a car wreck,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said. “His ear is horrible, so now he’s going to get plastic surgery.
“[The doctor] just to put it together, just to hold it, and he went to the hospital. He’s seen better days, but he’s in good spirits.”
Crichton returned to the side full-time and hugged several Sharks players, including Finucane.
He also did a short interview on ABC Radio.
“I’m just coming to my senses now,” Crichton said. “I don’t remember what happened. It’s good to have my memory back now. The cut was from the headbutt.”
Hi everyone, The surgery went well with 20 stitches to reattach my ear. Thank you all for your messages! / Surgery went well with 20 stitches to reattach the ear. Thank you all for your messages! @DragonsOfficiel pic.twitter.com/72LowNBVwL
— Ben Garcia (@12GarciaBen) July 11, 2022
The incident sparked a melee and angry Panthers players called for Finucane to be sent off after he burst off the defensive line to lunge at Crichton.
However, referee Ashley Klein told them that Crichton’s injury was the result of a head clash and the Bunker accepted that there had been nothing illegal in Finucane’s tackle.
While acknowledging there was no malice on Finucane’s behalf, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary believed action should have been taken against the former NSW Origin forward for the sloppy nature of his challenge in Crichton.
“First of all, I’m sure the last thing Dale Finucane wanted to do was injure Critta and I guess historically a headbutt has been a headbutt, but I think how easy it is to give a high tackle. Penalty for contact with the head, it just looked wrong,” Cleary said.
“Critta’s not great, so there’s certainly an argument for neglect, I think, but then again that’s the interpretation at the moment.
“I was worried about Critta, that was the first thing I thought, but I thought we would at least get a penalty.
“I’m not exactly sure about the interpretations, but that’s clearly head contact. It knocks him out. It’s weird that that’s okay, but the softest of touches, sometimes, isn’t okay.”
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Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo was on the bench at the time, but was close enough to the action to confirm his teammates had wanted to send Finucane off.
“I wasn’t on the field, but obviously they were asking the question,” he said. “It looked ugly but that’s how it was decided.”
Sharks manager Craig Fitzgibbon admitted the incident didn’t look good but believed Finucane had done nothing wrong.
“It was a big head crash from what I saw,” Fitzgibbon said. “His arms came out spectacularly after that, but I thought it was head contact for me.”