One week Canterbury looked like genuine premiership contenders upsetting the Penrith Panthers that were undefeated at the time.
The next, they looked like strangers to themselves.
In a disappointing loss to an undermanned Eels with 13 players on the sidelines, Cameron Ciraldo jokingly stated he might need a "psychology degree" to be able to wonder how it went wrong for his team.
"I'd like to think not but that's certainly what it looked like," Ciraldo commented when asked if complacency had a role in their 38-20 loss to the Eels on Sunday.
The opening exchanges gave little indication the Bulldogs started strong before they lost what allowed them to start well.
"I thought we started well, we started with good energy and intent. But any sort of error and penalty we had, we just showed no resilience to defend it. The scoreboard ticked over.
"I thought Parra were really good, exactly what we expected them to be. So deserved the win but we were way off our best."
The Bulldogs' afternoon had already become complicated before kick-off, when Enari Tuala pulled up with a hamstring strain at the very end of Saturday's training session.
Critics raised a few eyebrows as forward Josh Curran was shifted into the centres rather than promoting Jonathan Sua into the starting lineup.
"He's played a fair bit at the Warriors, played centre a number of times, done a lot there in the pre-season,” Ciraldo stated.
"We just thought considering how late the switch was, Jon Sua's played one game in first grade two years ago, just thought it would have been a bit tough on him to throw him in an unfamiliar position at late notice and Josh has had plenty of reps there to be able to do that job, he didn't get caught out defensively today, he was fine.
"That was the rationale behind it. We're obviously missing two of our top centres there in Enari and Critter and Josh is a player that's played over 100 games, knows the system well."
The injury toll didn't stop there, with winger Jacob Kiraz also hobbling from the field with a knee complaint, sending him for scans.
Captain Stephen Crichton is edging closer to a return, and likely named against Brisbane.
Though if the performance isn't lifted dramatically, his presence alone won't save them from themselves.
"Our best is good enough to challenge anyone. Our worst is a long way off that so we want to be consistent, we want to be playing close to our best every week but today was far from it and we need to figure out why," Ciraldo said.
“Who cares how long the turnaround is.
"If we turn up with the right mindset, we'll give ourselves a chance. If we turn up with that crap, we'll get what we deserve."
