Relieved Sydney Roosters skipper Braith Anasta said he felt like his 200th NRL game was becoming a "nightmare" before his side overcame a spirited Canterbury - and a number of controversial refereeing decisions - to win 36-32 at the SFS on Sunday.
In one of the matches of the season, the Roosters trailed 32-24 with less than 15 minutes left before two late tries to Todd Carney and Mitchell Aubusson gave them a remarkable come-from-behind win.
But the match will be remembered as much for some of the dubious calls from referees Gavin Badger and Tony De Las Heras as it will for some of the scintillating football from both sides.
Roosters fans were left fuming after a no-try ruling against Anasta by the video referee early in the second half as well as two forward pass calls that went against their side.
One of those forward passes led to a Bulldogs try to Michael Hodgson 10 minutes before half-time that got the visitors back into the match after they trailed 18-10.
Anasta admitted he feared his milestone game was going to be ruined by the men in the middle.
"It was a very emotional day for me. It was my 200th game and I've been through a lot and I just really wanted to put everything I could into the game for the team and for the club on this special day," Anasta said.
"I just didn-t want it to be ruined with something that's just out of my control."
"I might have looked frustrated out there but I was just determined to win and I was doing everything I could to win."
"I've got to admit I thought someone was going to wake me up from a nightmare at one stage."
"As a player you can only do your best on the field. I thought that we were doing that and we weren-t getting rewarded for that."
"I just couldn-t believe it to be honest but at the end of the day the boys should a lot of character and dug deep for each other and made my day a special one."
After copping a $5000 fine a fortnight ago for comments about the performances of referees, Roosters coach Brian Smith was measured in his criticism of the whistleblowers.
The veteran coach was happy to talk up the resilience of his side though - especially his skipper.
"We responded very well to everything that happened out there," Smith said."They kept their composure under pressure at the back end."
"Some of it came down to the leadership on the field of the man that played 200 games today and I think he had one of his better ones."
Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore was bitterly disappointed his side had given up what looked like a comfortable victory midway through the second half when they lead by as much as 12 points.
The defeat has put a serious dent into the club's finals hopes, probably needing to win six of their last seven matches to sneak into the top eight.
"We probably blew it in the end," a dejected Moore said of his side's late fadeout.
"I thought we had the game in our keeping, we didn-t play poorly at the back end we just come up with three incomplete sets that ultimately led to us defending for nine sets of six as opposed to us having the footy."
"I thought we defended valiantly and were very brave for a long period of time in the second half but it just took its toll in the end."
Canterbury skipper Andrew Ryan added: "They're a great side and have got plenty of attacking potential but we were 12 points ahead there and had more chances."
"They put us under pressure and we had to do a lot of defence on our goal line which was for the most part pretty good."
"But they wore us down and got those two tries at the end there."