It's unclear who picked up the tab when Moses Mbye had dinner with a number of his ex-Canterbury teammates last Saturday.
But the Bulldogs are nevertheless continuing to count the cost after their wretched start to the 2019 NRL season.
Canterbury fans will get a reminder of their salary cap dramas when former star Mbye skippers the Wests Tigers in Sunday's round-three match-up.
The undefeated Tigers have shot out of the blocks to lead the NRL after the opening fortnight, while the winless Bulldogs are bottom of the table.
Part of Mbye's contract, of course, remains on the Bulldogs' books after the club opted to pay the Tigers to ease their cap concerns last year.
While Mbye has already faced off against his former club, he still has fond memories of Belmore and remains close with a number of his old teammates.
"I actually had a dinner with a few of the boys last Saturday," Mbye told AAP.
"I've got a really close friendship with the Bulldogs. They've been a huge part of my life. Obviously I went to Canterbury as a 17-year-old and grew up there.
"I had children there. My kids have been in and out of that place. It's definitely a huge part of my life. I've got a lot of respect from them."
His links to the Bulldogs ensure the 25-year-old will never take the club lightly.
Pressure has already reached fever pitch on coach Dean Pay, who has watched his team concede 76 points in their opening two games.
It's the most Canterbury have given up over the opening two rounds since 1971.
"The Bulldogs are a club who (have) been under extreme adversity before and bounced back well," Mbye said.
"They've got their backs against the wall, so there's no worse time to get them, really. They're a club that feeds off adversity.
"They've got some really strong leaders there. Josh Jackson especially, I'm sure he's going to be talking to the boys and getting them up for this one."
Despite their slow start to the year, the Bulldogs opted to give Pay a one-year contract extension to continue their rebuild until the end of 2020.
Pay has made five changes to the team that were muzzled by Parramatta last week, including handing a debut to local junior Jayden Okunbor.
The Tigers are unchanged.
STATS THAT MATTER
* Canterbury have won all five of their games against the Wests Tigers in Campbelltown.
* This is the sixth time the Wests Tigers have started the season 2-0, however they've missed the finals each time, including last year.
* The Bulldogs have conceded 76 points in their opening two games, the most in the competition this season and their most since 1971 (93 points).
