Canterbury five-eighth Josh Reynolds says the five days in between a dire 36-0 loss to Manly and a gritty, much needed 10-7 win over Brisbane was a "soul searching" period and after a well-earned win hopes he won't be forced out of the club that means everything to him.
The Belmore local remains unsigned beyond 2017 but after his best game of the year was reluctant to speak too much on his uncertain future – however was full of praise for the resilience his teammates showed in bouncing back from last week's horror loss.
"What a week. What a roller coaster," Reynolds said after the game.
"It was a soul searching week. To be flogged like that against a team that we thought we had their measure was a big wake up call."
He admitted there were some "pretty white faces" at the first training session after the Manly loss but was adamant the effort on Thursday against Brisbane showed the squad still had it.
It was an emotion-charged night for the 27-year-old, who scored one try and probably could have had two more but for a couple of offside and handling errors.
"I'm always going to have that [emotion] there, it's just about controlled emotion. It's about being in the game when I need to be. It comes easy to me, I never have to get up for a game, I'm always so pumped but it's about using it at the right times," he said.
That emotion came to the fore when asked about his future and rumours the club is considering offloading him for next season.
"Honestly it is hard for me to think that, it really is. It makes me a bit sick in my stomach," Reynolds said.
"I don't want to comment too much on that at the moment because I'm not 100 per cent what's going on. I'm letting my manager do everything but I do, I love the club. Let's be honest. I was born there [in the area], nights like this make me realise how I think I suit the club."
Reynolds was bewildered at the criticism levelled at both coach Des Hasler – who he credits for "creating" him as a player – and the blue and white pack after the Manly loss.
"It's really hard for me to see the criticism [Hasler] cops honestly because he gave me my shot," Reynolds said.
"He is the one that said to me 'you're going to be the five-eighth for the Bulldogs'. He's taught me so much. He's created me. He's created the person I am.
"We've both worked, we've agreed, we've disagreed, and it sucks for me to see that but to go in there [in the sheds after beating Brisbane] and you can just see it in his face compared to last week. It is a massive relief for him and everyone who was involved and I'll tell you right now there's 17, 18, 19 blokes in there that would say the exact same thing for him because he gets us ready every week. It's not him the one going out there and putting in poor performances."
