Canterbury had six months to get ready for the first game of their brave new world, but after falling flat against Manly the Bulldogs have just seven days to get ready for their second.
Cameron Ciraldo's side was tipped to be one of the big improvers this season but was dusted 31-6 by the Sea Eagles in its season opener.
It was a listless and scattered display by the Bulldogs, and they will need to shape up quickly if they are to make amends, a task made all the more difficult given they're travelling to Melbourne to play the Storm on Saturday night.
Josh Addo-Carr understands the enormity of the task at hand very well given he's been on both sides of it.
After becoming one of the best wingers in the league during his time with the Storm, he copped the full force of the purple fury in his first match against his old club last season when the Bulldogs were run off the park in a 44-0 drubbing.
"You have to be in the system to understand [why they're so good]. It's going to be a tough challenge this week but the boys are really looking forward to it," Addo-Carr said.
"These are the games you want to play, you're playing one of the benchmark teams of the competition because the Storm have been so good ever since they've been in the NRL. It'll be good to go down there.
"We have to learn from it but we fixed a few things from that game and it'll go a long way towards us winning it."
The Storm paid a heavy price for their golden point victory over Parramatta last week and will be without Cameron Munster on Saturday night.
But in a measure of the respect they've gained through their many years of excellence, and of Canterbury's early struggles, Melbourne will still enter the match as warm favourites.
"It's always radio silence when you're versing the boys, but I'll catch up with them after the game," Addo-Carr said.
"We're all so close and I don't think you ever lose that when you spend so much time down in Melbourne.
"No matter who you go against, they're always a good team. Whoever comes in, they always do a job."
Round 1 wasn't all doom and gloom for Canterbury – hardcore Bulldogs tragics would have been served a treat if they showed up to Brookvale Oval early, with 18-year-old playmaker Karl Oloapu starring in his NSW Cup debut.
Oloapu's lucrative move from Brisbane over the summer attracted plenty of headlines and the hype will only grow after he scored a try and played a hand in three more as Canterbury overturned a 16-0 deficit to beat Blacktown 36-16.
"He's a great talent. The more he's around the first grade boys and training with us, he's only going to grow as a footy player," Addo-Carr said.
"He has that IQ, that smarts about him, that talent or whatever you want to call it that most players don't have.
"The more he's around the boys, the more he's with the coaches, he's definitely growing into the player he wants to be."
