Des Hasler would loathe the fact his Bulldogs have spent more time up and down this season than an overworked flight attendant. Seemingly world beaters one week, head scratchers the next.
This was never going to be your head-back-in-the-chair and rest-easy take-off, but the NRL's great mystery side might point to this as their latest attempt to get off the tarmac again. But barely. Just how long this latest flight lasts is anybody's guess.
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Dogs win Golden Point thriller
The Canterbury Bulldogs blow a comfortable lead when the Gold Coast Titans level the score with less than 10 minutes remaining. But some Josh Reynolds heroics ensure the Bulldogs take the spoils.
The man who perhaps is the epitome of their rollercoaster season, Josh Reynolds, was equal parts Jekyll and Hyde before eventually landing an 84th-minute field goal in golden point as the Bulldogs ground out a 21-20 win at ANZ Stadium.
It was everything Canterbury version 2016 has represented. But despite the Titans punching well above their weight this year and their own side's indifferent patches, Bulldogs fans would have pencilled this fixture as a 'W' at the start of season. It turned out to be - but only just - after butchering a 12-point lead late.
The error-ridden win will suffice for now though. Especially when they're only four points shy of pacesetters Brisbane.
But while the numerical gap might not be insurmountable, the gap in recent performances suggests there is a fairly big gulf between Canterbury and the competition's heavy hitters.
For everything that accompanies the "Mad Scientist", Hasler will find his side's consistent inconsistency most maddening. It is everything his outfits haven't represented for the best part of a decade.
They've now alternated wins and losses every week since round two. A loss to Parramatta next week, hardly inconceivable, would stretch the win-loss sequence to eight.
Their halves have been the epitome of their plight. Reynolds, jockeying to regain a State of Origin jersey, is case in point. His best was directly laying on two tries and providing bone-jarring defence, his worst coughing up possession and occasionally kicking errantly. Until his ice-cool field goal match-winner.
The Bulldogs' first 10 minutes was a classic example of the yo-yo they have resembled in 2016. Peppering the Gold Coast line, the hosts succumbed to the first venture the visitors had in their red zone.
The Titans, who lost Ash Taylor to an abdominal injury, handed just a second NRL match to 22-year-old halfback Cameron Cullen. And the pint-sized playmaker proved to be the catalyst for opening points, chancing his arm on the last tackle as Zeb Taia crashed over for the opening try.
On cue, it was then all the Bulldogs. Canterbury's wingers Curtis Rona and Sam Perrett touched down within 10 minutes of each other, the latter with a spectacular effort to haul in a Reynolds looping pass with one hand before regaining his feet and sliding over.
State of Origin hopeful Will Hopoate ensured the Bulldogs' back three were all on the scoresheet before half-time, latching onto an inside ball after Moses Mbye carved open the Titans' right edge.
Gold Coast's cause seemed hopeless when Josh Jackson latched onto Reynolds' rifled pass early in the second half, perhaps not surprisingly only a few minutes after Greg Bird ambled off for a concussion test. But this never-say-die and plucky Titans are a different breed from recent editions.
Even less surprising was that it was Bird who dragged them back into the contest, launching an inch-perfect ball for David Mead to drag the visitors to within six with virtually his first touch after returning.
Hoffman's long range heroics set up a grandstand finish where both sides botched a couple of field goal attempts each before Reynolds stepped up to the mark.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 21 (Curtis Rona, Sam Perrett, Will Hopoate, Josh Jackson tries; Kerrod Holland 2 goals; Josh Reynolds field goal) Gold Coast Titans 20 (Zeb Taia, David Mead, Josh Hoffman tries; Tyrone Roberts 4 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referees: Ashley Klein, Chris James. Crowd: 11,450.
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