A fired-up Wests Tigers outfit pulled off a stunning upset on Sunday afternoon to win the unofficial Lachlan Galvin Cup, beating an error-prone Bulldogs side 28-14 at CommBank Stadium.
Benji Marshall made a big call before Sunday's game, dropping long-term five-eighth Latu Fainu in favour of the more experienced Adam Doueihi.
While Marshall was adamant last week that Fainu is the future of the club, it seemed like the Tigers coach is under enough pressure to deliver results right now - and avoid another wooden spoon - that he pulled the trigger on the more reliable Doueihi.
It proved to be a masterstroke, at least in the short-term, as Doueihi had a hand in three of the Tigers' four first-half tries to give the home side a shock 20-4 lead entering the break.
The Tigers were made to earn that buffer after surviving an early onslaught from the Bulldogs, which was largely self-inflicted as handling errors piled up in testing conditions for Marshall's men.
But to their credit, the Tigers defended valiantly to keep turning the Bulldogs away before Cameron Ciraldo's team starting to have their own issues holding onto the ball.
Suddenly, they found themselves trailing 20-0, with Doueihi setting up the first try when he broke a few tackles and then found Jahream Bula, who linked with Jeral Skelton out wide.
Doueihi was at it again in the 20th minute when he split the defence from dummy-half and put Bula away before later scoring a sensational individual try of his own off a Matt Burton error.
Apisai Koroisau set up the other try of the half with a deft grubber for former Bulldog Skelton.
While the Tigers handled the conditions far better in the first half, the Bulldogs hit back late in the piece as Stephen Crichton, named at centre but playing fullback in attack, hit Jacob Preston with a beautiful short ball.
The Bulldogs needed to be first to score in the second half given the wet weather and did just that as they made the Tigers pay for a cheap error inside their own half, with Crichton involved again as Kiraz crashed over.
Momentum quickly turned in the Bulldogs' favour after Alex Seyfarth was penalised against the run of play for attacking the head of Max King before then being given his marching orders soon after for a shoulder to the head of Samuel Hughes.
It left the Tigers down a man for a crucial 10-minute stretch, with plenty of time still on the clock for the Bulldogs, who trailed 20-8.
The Tigers held strong, however, to outscore the Bulldogs despite being without Seyfarth as a Doueihi penalty goal extended the lead beyond two converted tries.
The penalty came after Crichton collected a slipping Taylan May with a shoulder to the head, with the Tigers centre subsequently ruled out after displaying Category 1 concussion symptoms.
Crichton wasn't sent to the bin due to the mitigating conditions, but a less than impressed Marshall was fuming according to Fox League given he had now lost a key backline player.
It mattered little though as the Tigers then sealed the result, albeit in contentious fashion, as a forward pass was missed when Jarome Luai put Samuela Fainu through.
Josh Curran scored a late consolation try despite an inspired chase from Doueihi, who was the clear standout in victory for the home side.
The win takes the Tigers four points clear of the last-placed Rabbitohs and Titans with a bye up their sleeve, while the Bulldogs blew a big opportunity to close the gap on minor premiership favourites Canberra.
The Bulldogs will look to bounce back next week when they play the Warriors while the Tigers have the bye.