The Penrith Panthers made it seven wins on the bounce with a 36-6 win over the Canberra Raiders as Stephen Crichton played his way in to State of Origin contention.
The Panthers are out to win the 2022 NRL grand final and they are clearly the team to beat once again after dominating against the Raiders.
Crichton shines
Crichton was the star of the show with a hat-trick of tries and has now scored six in the opening seven games of the season.
The latest performance was in front of New South Wales coach Brad Fittler, who will have been impressed with what he saw from the powerful centre.
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"I don't think he'd let anyone down. He's been really good this year for us," Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said after the game when asked about Crichton’s Origin chances.
As for the player himself. He is just remaining focused on the job in hand. "I just want to play consistent footy for Penrith and any bonuses that come from that would be good for me and my family," he added.
Raiders disappointment
Meanwhile it was another disappointing game for the Raiders who are 2-5 for the season and sit second bottom on the ladder.
And coach Ricky Stuart admits his side were never in the game.
"It was very hard," Stuart told reporters. "I don't think we had a play-the-ball in their half in the second half. We were forever defending, so it wouldn't have only been Penrith that beat us by that amount, other teams would have to."
