In the lead-up to Saturday's final, Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds approached skipper Michael Ennis about exploiting the rule that rewards the attacking team if the ball hits the referee.
The Bulldogs managed to earn a repeat set that led to Trent Hodkinson's first field goal of the semi-final against Manly, after Reynolds' grubber made contact with referee Ben Cummins on the last tackle in the dying minutes.
While he joked about his kick hitting the referee being intentional, Reynolds revealed that he had discussed the ploy with Ennis during the week heading into Saturday's do-or-die showdown with the Sea Eagles.
"The funny thing is, I actually spoke to Mick about it through the week," Reynolds said. "He said what a great play it is. So yeah, I'll claim it. [Cummins] put his hand up the other way. And I said no way, man, I know the rule."
Judging by the reaction of all the Bulldogs players when Cummins originally ruled a Manly feed, they all knew about the rule after it was raised at training by Reynolds. There is a fear that teams could intentionally exploit the rule in the final two weeks of the season, especially if the hookers start to aim their passes at the pocket referee just behind the ruck. But the NRL isn't about to make any changes as a result of what transpired on Saturday night.
"It's very rare that a ball is kicked into a referee during a game," an NRL spokesperson said. "The rule is designed to reward the attacking team and there are no plans to change it."
Reynolds has been heavily criticised post-Origin and has struggled to recapture his best form as a result of some of his on-field antics. But the Bulldogs No.6 said a heart-to-heart with coach Des Hasler helped him turn it all around in time for the finals.
"He was really good," Reynolds said. "He said to me, don't change what you do, but just try and be a little bit smarter at times. And that's probably great advice. That's the gist. The way I play sometimes, some things might come off the wrong way. The best words I think he ever said to me was, you might be down, but it's how you bounce back. And I took that on board a lot. Two to three weeks ago, people were saying to rub me out of the game. But I wanted to come back and show people through my footy that I still belong here. I do this because I love it. I don't go out on the field to harm anyone. It's just because I want to win so bad. Sometimes that's what happens and you see it in players all the time ... I'm glad to be back out here, doing what I love. I'm in a good place. I'm really enjoying it."
The Bulldogs were labelled dead and buried a fortnight ago, but Reynolds insists it was that very talk which inspired them to their impressive finals run with victories over Melbourne and Manly.
"I think that's what sparked us off, really," Reynolds said. "When people wrote us off last week against Melbourne and probably the same today. With our backs against the wall, that's when we come out and play our best footy. I think it shows you what kind of team we are."
