As the old adage goes, sometimes change is as good as a holiday.
However, on the other hand, methods tried and true have often been the key to writing wrongs and putting runaway trains back on the tracks.
Ahead of Round 13 and the opening of the Origin window, the currently coachless Canterbury Bulldogs hold the unenviable task of holding the competition table up after claiming just two wins across the opening three months.
Yet, while leaking points with a turnstile defence still seems to be de rigueur for a side that continually seeks to disappoint, the lure of a day out at the heartland last Sunday proved too tough for diehard Dogs to turn down.
In spite of the fact that the competition cellar dwellers haven't tasted success since late-April, just shy of 17,000 fanatics packed out both Belmore's hills and decaying grandstand in the hopes that the ghosts of old Dogs could help Mick Potter's puppies down the Dragons on home soil.
Though the two points would remain out of reach, the mere fact that the fixture provided an opportunity to view a genuine bridge between days gone by and those still to unfold would have sent Bulldogs of all ages home with at least a half-smile.
Still, if the easy beats are genuine about reclaiming their place within the northern reaches of rugby league's pantheon, it is the lessons of the past that require heeding if tomorrow is going to be anything but bleak for those currently clad in the club's chevrons.
Anyone with even a mild grasp on how sporting dynasties are birthed will tell you that, just like Rome itself, they aren't built in a day. They require scheming, plotting, planning, and yes, a slice of luck and more than just a pinch of ruthlessness.
Those who saw the Steve Mortimer led Bulldogs own a sizable chunk of the 1980s will tell you without hesitation that while the collective which included the ilk of Lamb, Peponis, cult hero Geoff Robinson and Mick Potter himself were branded 'The Entertainers', it was their heartless edge which saw corks routinely popped between Belmore and Campsie train stations.
And for this golden era to commence, the same level of mercilessness required proving in the boardroom as well as between the posts.
By the cessation of the 1977 NSWRL season, a fever-struck Canterbury squad had fossicked their way to a nine-win, one-draw and 11-loss season under the watch of head coach Malcolm Clift and skipper Bob McCarthy.
Though only fractions away from producing a squared ledger, the Dogs' inability to reach the finals came just 12 months after the club had narrowly missed out a place in the '76 decider due to the boot of one Bob 'Bozo' Fulton.
Fast forward to the opening day of pre-season training ahead of the '78 campaign, and alterations had been made, with McCarthy returning to the Burrow, Clift commencing an eight-year coaching hiatus and the club adopting a nickname truly befitting that of a ruthless competitor - the Bulldog.
In McCarthy and Clift's place came the legendary George Peponis and one-term Sharks steward, Ted Glossop.
Though 1978 would see commendable improvement on-field, with the newly branded Bulldogs claiming a 13-2-8 record by September, the Belmore boy's season came to a close after being edged by the Eels on semi-final day
Press the remote through the banner days of the 80s and you will find that Canterbury was able to reach the season's decider on five occasions for three premierships, finally snapping their 38-year drought in 1980 after cruising past the Chooks at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
While this jaunt down memory lane may be enough to have battle-hardened Bulldogs backers viewing the first day of winter with a rose tint, the practice put into place over four decades ago only seeks to prove that it can be done again.
Of course, talking premierships when this contemporary Canterbury side looks unable to beat themselves out of a wet paper bag, much less a first-grade rival, is putting the cart before the horse, but the same tested blueprint may yet prove viable.
With Phil Gould back at Belmore, the apparently toothless Bulldogs have at their disposal a GM who, between his busy schedule of acting as the game's greatest lightning rod, is more than adept at crafting premiership-winning rosters.
And with the likes of Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Burton, Reed Mahoney, Tevita Pangai Junior, Viliame Kikau set to trot out next season, the competition's current whipping boys will have plenty of Origin-calibre talent on show -Â even if Brad Fittler is currently at odds with the contention.
Add in the fact that 'Freddy' himself still remains a live option to lead this list, along with a pound of promising pups, and the dark days that have stretched since the club last played October footy in 2014 could finally be clearing.
Sure, false dawns have been aplenty at Belmore since the days of 'Baa', 'Turvey' and 'Robbo', but with the choice to possibly rebuild with an array of key positions filled and under a relatively untested first-grade coach, the recipe remains resoundingly familiar.
Still, in the zero-sum game of rugby league, it will be the results that dictate whether those in the outer are entertained or not.
With a schedule still dictating dates against the likes of Penrith, Parramatta, Cronulla, South Sydney and North Queensland, the immediate future is near-certain to remain as grim as the present.
But as history has told those that bleed blue and white, all it takes sometimes is a summer of tough love to sweep through both the boardroom and the changing sheds.
That and more than a healthy dishful of pitilessness.
