Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo's bold selection gamble paid off on Saturday night, with captain Stephen Crichton kicking a golden point field goal to secure a gritty 13-12 victory over Manly, all while playing at five-eighth.
Ahead of the clash, Ciraldo made the surprise decision to shift Crichton from centre into the halves, moving Matt Burton to left centre and relegating Bronson Xerri from the starting side.
The move didn't immediately bear fruit, with Crichton restricted to just one run in the opening half.
However, his developing combination with Lachlan Galvin helped produce Canterbury's first try of the night, keeping the Bulldogs within striking distance at 8-6 despite Manly crossing twice.
The Sea Eagles' inability to convert any of their tries proved costly. Crichton, meanwhile, was flawless from the tee.
Lachlan Galvin backed himself in the second half to score a lone try, pushing them into golden point at 12-all.
Just minutes into extra time, Crichton pounced on a loose ball after a failed offload from Nathan Brown.
With the Bulldogs camped on Manly's line, hooker Bailey Hayward found his skipper, who calmly slotted the match-winning field goal, replicating the heroics that helped open Canterbury's season in Las Vegas.
The result came despite an error-riddled performance from both sides, with each team committing more than 11 errors and the Bulldogs missing 34 tackles.
Still, Ciraldo was pleased with the resilience his side showed.
"It might not have been a pretty win, but that's our style of game," Ciraldo declared after the Bulldogs were outscored three tries to two by Manly but still found a way to get the two premiership points.
"I think the boys enjoy that style of games, nice tight contests, and it was awesome to get the result in the end."
Ciraldo revealed that the possibility of using Crichton in the halves had been discussed internally for some time.
"At times where we've been a bit short in the halves over the last two pre-seasons, Critta's jumped in there, and he's shown a lot of potential in that position," Ciraldo said.
"We've always had in the back of our minds that it might happen one day… we had the bye last week, so we had a really good opportunity to sit back and chat about how the first half of the season has gone, how individuals have gone.
"The change was more around helping (Matt Burton) find his best and most consistent form… and spoke about maybe we can do that by (him) playing in the centres, just taking a little bit of responsibility off him for a bit and just allow him to just enjoy his footy.
"I thought "Burto" was brilliant tonight."
Crichton's display was made even more remarkable given he was ruled out of Wednesday night's State of Origin clash due to a recurring shoulder injury.
Ciraldo was particularly impressed with his captain's ability to handle the demands of an unfamiliar role while defending against one of the game's most destructive edge forwards.
"I knew he'd handle the game management side of it and the leadership, but he had to also mark Haumole (Olakau'atu) for 80 minutes, who was charging off the back fence," Ciraldo said.
"To do that on the back of hardly any contact training... is a credit to how tough he is."
The victory keeps Canterbury's momentum rolling heading into next weekend's clash with the Titans, who also secured a field-goal win after rookie halfback Zane Harrison slotted the decisive point in the dying moments of their match.
