Make no mistake. Cameron Ciraldo is a man under pressure on the run into the finals.
There was a time this year when pressure was looking like it wouldn't need to be a word in the vocabulary of Bulldogs players, staff or fans.
They won their first six, suffered a blip against the Broncos, and then won another three on the hop.
At one point, they had won nine out of their first ten, and at the end of Round 11, were sitting on top of the premiership table. It wasn't even close.
Built on a us-against-them mentality, a defence-first game style with plenty of discipline in a then Toby Sexton and Matt Burton-led attack, they were the red-hot premiership favourites.
But then the talk started.
Maybe Lachlan Galvin was going to arrive at the club. Maybe Toby Sexton, the ladder-leading halfback, wouldn't be re-signed. Maybe he would be dropped before the end of the season.
Maybe Reed Mahoney, the club's dummy half who, for all his aggression, was still getting the job done, was going to be dropped with the lock or bench utility Bailey Hayward moving into the dummy half role.
Maybe Matt Burton was going to shuffle into the centres with Stephen Crichton at fullback and Connor Tracey nowhere to be seen.
It was a constant talk of maybe this, maybe that, and the Bulldogs, despite being at home, then proceeded to cop 44 points at the hands of the Dolphins heading into a bye.
Over that week off, they signed Lachlan Galvin.
Things quickly seemed to restore themselves afterwards with the new signing playing a role off the bench in a win over the Eels, and then starting in place of NSW 18th man Matt Burton against South Sydney.
He scored on debut, the Bulldogs won another two, and all seemed right again at Belmore as the club's crowds and groundswell of support continued to grow.
It was a runaway bandwagon despite the constant maybes surrounding the club.
Galvin was benched the following week for a tight loss to Penrith, then started with Burton to the centres in a loss to the Broncos.
Dropped for a scrappy win over the Cowboys in Townsville, Galvin was then recalled for his first start in the number 7 during Round 20 against the Dragons.
The Bulldogs followed that up with a really strong 42-4 win over Manly, but from there, the form has been scratchy at best.
A horror loss in dreadful weather to the Tigers, a win over the Warriors at home, a shocking loss to the Roosters, a tight loss to the Storm, where they had all the ball.
By that stage, Hayward was the new starting number nine.
Those losses were followed up with a scratchy win over a Penrith reserve grade side, and a game against Cronulla to end the regular season, where the Bulldogs' only try was scored off a long-range intercept.
They didn't look like scoring against an admittedly outstanding Cronulla defensive outfit, who look like they have worked out how to go about things without Cameron McInnes in a hurry.
But it's attack where eyebrows are being raised for the Bulldogs.
Maybe - and that's a theme - but maybe it isn't that much of a surprise when you change three-fifths of your spine (yes, we count the lock forward as part of the spine these days) halfway or more into the season.
But the Bulldogs in the last four weeks have scored six tries against full-strength opposition, and should have run in about ten against the Panthers.
Their attack isn't passing the smell test at this stage. It looks clunky, slow and pedestrian.
So when Cameron Ciraldo seemed to try and deflect from that during his post-match press conference, you could be forgiven for trying to understand what he was on about.
"I'm glad that's over and we can get on to the next phase of the competition,” Ciraldo said during his post-match press conference.
"Obviously, we were nowhere near our best, and that's what happens when your mindset is slightly off.
"We were a bit impatient with the ball, a bit excitable. Probably our fault, we didn't put too much emphasis in attack this week as there was nothing to play for.
"But we have been the third most consistent team all year, and we deserve to finish where we are. It hasn't been perfect the last little period, been up and down, but we deserve to finish third and give ourselves the best chance over the next four weeks.
"Disappointing tonight. We had a home crowd of 30,000, but it is what it is."
Let me just repeat that.
The Bulldogs, where attack is the one major area of concern for the club heading into the finals, did not put much emphasis on their attack at training during the week because there was nothing to play for.
And sure, technically, Ciraldo is spot on.
They couldn't move up the ladder. They were going to finish third and travel to Melbourne, whatever the case.
But if there was really nothing to play for, why on god's green earth did they run out at full strength?
Because now, Marcelo Montoya has suffered an ankle injury, Bronson Xerri is concussed, and Matt Burton was holding his shoulder during the closing minutes.
Certainly, Montoya and Xerri have no chance for next week.
All that for absolutely no gains, and more questions than answers coming out of a game where the Sharks totally and utterly shut them down.
It simply doesn't add up.
If there was no point playing, then all of those guys and more should have been on the sideline, preparing for their trip to Melbourne, which, by the way, is going to come off a six-day turnaround.
The Storm? Yeah, they played on Thursday night, and while they'll be understrength too, they have a couple of extra days and rested a handful the week before.
It's not all Galvin's fault. He is a number six being tasked with playing in the number seven. I said it on The Loose Carry Podcast a couple of weeks ago - he might turn into a number seven in the future. He certainly has the talent and potential, but right now, he isn't.
Canterbury absolutely deserves their third-place finish. Let's get that clear.
Ciraldo is right. They have been the third most consistent team of the year.
But anyone who thinks the season has been managed well or that they are in peak condition and form for the finals is kidding themselves.
The blue and white might just surprise us all when we get into the finals. Maybe they'll knock off Melbourne and leave most rugby league pundits with egg on their faces.
But based on the evidence presented over the last couple of months, and the fact that even the head coach seemingly can't get his planning right, they will go into that game as long, long outsiders.
