Cameron Smith Critiques Bulldogs Coach’s ‘Bizarre Decision’ Following Stephen Crichton’s Injury in Defeat to Souths

Cameron Smith has labelled Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo’s choice to leave Stephen Crichton on the field, rather than substitute him with Bronson Xerri, as a “baffling decision” in the wake of their 32-24 defeat to South Sydney on Good Friday.

Captain Stephen Crichton sustained an injury early in the second half, requiring a change for the Bulldogs.

The centre injured his AC joint following a tackle from Jack Wighton and Campbell Graham shortly after the restart.

Crichton quickly fell to the ground, clutching his right shoulder, prompting immediate attention from the trainer.

Rabbitohs fullback Jye Gray was also seen nursing his shoulder shortly after, having taken a kick.

“Stephen Crichton does not look good at all,” Smith commented during the broadcast on Nine.

Crichton’s landing was awkward, with his forearm unable to cushion the fall.

“He goes down on that right shoulder and falls in a very awkward manner. I suspect it might be an AC joint injury,” Smith elaborated.

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“That kind of impact where you land on your arm or shoulder induces a sharp and uncomfortable pain.”

Although Gray managed to continue playing, Crichton walked off visibly in distress. Nine’s Marlee Silva later confirmed that Crichton had indeed suffered an AC joint injury and did not return for the match.

After the match, Ciraldo mentioned that “it’s not looking great” for Crichton, indicating he could be sidelined for an extended period.

Crichton’s exit meant that for the second consecutive week, Matt Burton had to shift from five-eighth to centre.

Sean O’Sullivan came off the bench to take over in the halves, despite Xerri being available. Xerri hasn’t featured for the Bulldogs since their opening game in Las Vegas.

At the moment Crichton was injured, the Bulldogs were ahead 18-12, but the Rabbitohs soon took control of the game, with Smith stating post-match that Crichton’s injury marked the “turning point”.

“The coach opted to bring on Sean O’Sullivan instead of Bronson Xerri, which we found to be a puzzling decision,” he observed.

“After that, their attacking efforts stalled significantly, and they struggled to score.”

Following the match, Connor Tracey acknowledged that the Bulldogs had anticipated this shift.

“We had Matt there who is trained to play centre, and he performed well,” he explained to Nine’s Ruan Sims.

“We have trained for scenarios like this; it was unfortunate that we couldn’t execute.”

Ciraldo elaborated on his decision not to field Xerri during the post-match conference, attributing it to a need for communication on the field.

“When you lose your primary communicator, I needed to bring another communicator into the side,” he explained. “Sean is one of our best in that regard.”