Sports reporter Adam Pengilly wrote on X: “As Nicho Hynes was being heckled by Bulldogs fans as he went up the tunnel, Stephen Crichton ran after him to offer some words of encouragement. “He then returned to the field for media duties and to be with teammates. Class act.”
Crichton now lays claim to being the best player in the NRL.
The 23-year-old is already a three-time premiership winner with Penrith and has scored tries in four consecutive grand finals.
He helped take Samoa to their first ever Rugby League World Cup final in 2022 and is now one of the first picked on NSW’s team sheet for State of Origin.
With Nathan Cleary out with a hamstring injury, the mantle for the NRL’s best player is there for the taking, at least for now.
Mitchell Moses staked his claim with perhaps the best performance by a Blues halfback since Andrew Johns that will surely keen him in the NSW No. 7 jersey for some time.
Crichton’s juggling intercept was peak rugby league and pointing at his temple while staring at Daly Cherry-Evans to show NSW were inside’s Queensland’s heads was as ice cold as it gets.
