Canterbury have produced a stunning response to their 66-point round-18 shellacking against Newcastle, bouncing back to upset South Sydney in a 36-32 thriller.
The same Bulldogs side that were caught cold against the Knights last weekend brought the heat against the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium.
They had to dig deep late after appearing to be cruising to victory leading 36-22 as the clocked ticked down, only for Souths winger Tyrone Munro and bench second-rower Tallis Duncan to score inside two minutes and give the Rabbitohs a sniff.
Young Canterbury winger Blake Wilson scored a hat-trick - the first three tries of his NRL career - including one on 70 minutes which sealed the points for his side.
Gun playmaker Matt Burton looked a different weapon alongside midweek recruit Toby Sexton, with the former Gold Coast halfback allowing his five-eighth plenty of space to roam and find two try assists.
Things looked ominous when the Bulldogs fell behind inside five minutes to a soft try straight up the middle for Souths stand-in captain Tom Burgess.
But Canterbury produced the response their fans were so desperately craving.
Wilson struck back with a quick double, his second courtesy of a brilliant charge-down from prop Tevita Pangai Jr that typified his side's increased effort levels.
Missing a host of State of Origin stars including key playmakers Cam Murray and Cody Walker along with the injured Latrell Mitchell, Souths lent on fullback Blake Taaffe in attack in what was likely his last game before Mitchell returns to No.1.
Taaffe found two slashing tries in a seven-minute second-half patch that got them back within eight points, while Munro marked his second NRL appearance with another double.
Burton created Wilson's first and set up another for hooker Reed Mahoney, while winger Jacob Kiraz powered clear to give the Bulldogs a 24-12 halftime advantage.
It wasn't just Sexton who enjoyed a debut to remember, with fellow first-gamer Ethan Quai-Ward crossing in the second half for Canterbury.
Their big win was soured by a serious-looking neck injury for prop Ryan Sutton, who was stretchered from the field inside 10 minutes after a shoulder charge that left Rabbitoh Taane Milne sin-binned.
Sutton was taken to hospital as a precaution.
A fan was ejected from the stadium after shining a laser in Burton's face as he attempted a first-half conversion, the five-eighth stopping his routine and protesting to referee Liam Kennedy before slotting the goal.
