Stephen Crichton's rise to become Canterbury's great leader was born out of the same army-style camp that turned Penrith into the NRL's best team of the modern era.
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Nestled deep in the Brisbane bush, and in the same rivers and cliff-faces that Penrith began their era of dominance, Crichton stood up and took charge for the first time.
At that point the Bulldogs were still a club with a vision but a recent history of being a transit lounge during an eight-year run without playing finals.
Come Sunday's elimination final in front of an anticipated 50,000 people at Accor Stadium, that will all change.
And Crichton has been at the centre of it all.
Stephen Crichton has been at the centre of a season of reinvention for the Bulldogs.(Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)
"We bought a lot of players from different clubs, and the only thing to bring boys together is to do a very hard army camp like that," Crichton said.
"Because you can't get through the army camp by yourself.
"You need your teammates and coaching staff. It is a whole club thing.
"You don't get through to semi-finals without buying into what the club wants."
For three days the Bulldogs were subjected to 3am wake-ups, blindfolded river missions, abseiling and gruelling workouts.
The camp was the same one undertaken by Penrith in 2020, at the start of their success.
Crichton was one of many common links. Coach Cameron Ciraldo was an assistant at the Panthers in 2019, and the man behind the Dogs venture.
"You train all day, late-night sleep and wake up early in the morning," Crichton said.
"You put yourself aside, it doesn't matter how you feel. That is the mentality of the whole year, with boys playing injured.
"Everything we did was team-orientated, not self-orientated. You can't get through the army camp on your own. You can't do anything on your own.
"It is club and team first. You put yourself last. That's been the motto through the club the whole year, and is something that has helped us get to where we are now."
Crichton listed the likes of Reed Mahoney as the man he was most impressed with on the camp, having only played against the niggling hooker in the past.
But for Bulldogs players it was Crichton.
"If he wasn't there, we would have had so many more penalties," prop Max King said.
Canterbury's Max King (centre) has nothing but praise for Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)
"He was just keeping the boys all in check and all on time. We would have probably done 1000 more push-ups if he wasn't there."
Crichton was named the Bulldogs captain the following month, becoming one of the club's youngest leaders at age 23.
But he had already made an impression on several of the Bulldogs back in August last year.
"The first time I spoke to him was after a Penrith game, and he had already signed with the Bulldogs," King said.
"We'd just got smashed by them, and I said 'see you next year mate'. And he was like 'Yep, can't wait'.
"I was taken aback, because it would be easy to feel like you're jumping on a sinking ship. But he wasn't, he was all in. That was cool to see."
Crichton shies away from the suggestion that he is the Bulldogs' best buy in 20 years.
Instead, he shines that light on Ciraldo, and what he has done since arriving as Bulldogs coach at the start of last year.
Crichton first played under Ciraldo in under-20s at Penrith, and compares his relationship with him to a father-son one.
The centre also makes no secret of the fact Ciraldo's appointment at the Bulldogs was a big reason for his own move.
"The confidence he puts in me to go out and do my job is massive," Crichton said.
"We definitely wouldn't be here without him.
"He's the exact same as he was back then, the confidence he puts into the players and the way he coaches us."
Stephen Crichton says he has a strong relationship with Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo (pictured). (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
For so long consigned to the bottom quarter of the table, Ciraldo has taken the Bulldogs from a basket case on the field to a legitimate force.
Employing the same defensive system he installed at Penrith, the Bulldogs sat No.1 in the league in that department until the final two weeks of the regular season.
Eight times this year they have kept an opposition scoreless in the second half, with Ciraldo adapting the old Penrith system to Canterbury's smaller and more mobile pack.
"I've been meaning to sit down with him and reflect over the year," Crichton said.
"I don't think he even realises what he has done with the club. I am so happy he is finally getting the credit he deserves.
"No one knows a defensive system like he does. It's finally good to see the credit he deserves and recognition everyone is giving him.
"I'm very proud of him."
Australian Associated Press