The chants of "sign him up, sign him up" booming from the Canterbury sheds said it all.
It the Bulldogs' management were looking for a reason to put pen to paper on a new deal for Josh Reynolds, they needn't go past his performance in their 24-9 NRL victory over South Sydney on Saturday night.
After scoring their only first-half try, he turned the game on its head in the second stanza.
Coach Des Hasler and skipper James Graham agreed Reynolds' try-saving tackle on Adam Reynolds after the break changed the course of the match.
He then set up Josh Jackson's go-ahead try in the 63rd minute, creating space as he drifted across field before the Bulldogs second-rower fired through the hole he had created seconds earlier.
It was a consummate performance from one of the club's favourite sons, who is desperate to stay on at Belmore next year.
Hasler reiterated that discussions with Reynolds are ongoing and fruitful and described his fire and passion as emblematic of the Bulldogs brand.
However rumblings about the club being interested in Kieran Foran and Cooper Cronk would seem to suggest he could be surplus to requirements.
"I'm not holding out (for more money). That's not me," Reynolds said of his contract negotiations.
"It's come out in the papers that 'I want this, I want that'. It's all behind closed doors.
"I even got a chant in there from a couple of the boys saying 'sign him up'. I'm happy with that. There's not much I can say. I've said numerous times what I want to do."
Throughout his career, for better or worse, Reynolds has been a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and has sometimes let his passion get the better of him.
A philosophical Reynolds said his state of mind often showed in how he performed on the field - if he was distracted he would be erratic or reckless.
"I'm going back to basics," he said
"I've had a look at myslef over the last five rounds. I feel like I do play well when I just go back to how I got myself here - and that's basing my game on the simple aspects and the little things."
While his ongoing negotiations were in the past something that would have got inside his head, he said he had been able to put them out of his mind.
"Over the years I've thought about stuff throughout the week," Reynolds said.
"And stuff is always going to pop up, you're going to see something when you're watching tele or something. I'm just learning to deal with it better and let it go."
