Scary scenes as Crichton stretchered off amid brutal Bulldogs flogging

The Bulldogs are facing a tense wait after captain Stephen Crichton was stretchered off the field in his side’s 40-16 loss to the Raiders.

Crichton was hit by Noah Martin just after he passed the ball and although the contact didn’t look heavy, initial reports are the 25-year-old suffered nerve damage in the impact.

“I’ve just been talking to the Bulldogs staff and there are a little confused about what exactly it is,” Jake Duke said on Fox League as the Bulldogs star was taken from the field.

“They are saying nerve issue, and if you look at Stephen Crichton’s history, about 12 months ago, he had some issues in his neck with the nerves and around that area.

“They’re just being ultra-precautionary with it. The doctors are assessing it and doing more testing and are getting him off the field, but that is the early word - nerves.”

Crichton was later spotted “up and about” with the Bulldogs staff.

Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo confirmed Crichton’s injury seemed to be a reoccurring nerve issue in his shoulder and neck.

“He’s inside, he’s feeling a bit better,” Ciraldo said.

“He was in a fair bit of discomfort. He lost feeling down one arm. It was a little bit scary. He’ll get a scan and hopefully everything’s OK.

“He’s feeling better and he’s up and about.

“It’s an awful feeling (in the coach’s box). There’s no feedback so you don’t know how he is or what he’s feeling.”

The Raiders were dominant in their 24-point victory as gun Zac Hosking posted a hat-trick.