Canterbury are back - but perhaps the ever-increasing woes of a disintegrating Manly outfit would provide a more accurate summation of the unflattering contest on Friday night.
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In an error-plagued match at ANZ Stadium, Bulldogs coach Des Hasler watched on as his former club slumped to a fifth straight loss - the worst losing streak in a decade - as a heavily under-strength Bulldogs outfit returned to winner's circle with a 28-16 victory.
At the start of the season the Friday night fixture between two of the most dominant teams of the past few seasons shaped as one of the competition blockbusters.
It had Des Hasler up against his old club, the NSW Origin halves up against the Australian and Kiwi playmakers and Trent Hodkinson and Tony Williams squaring off against their former teammates.
It had it all - at least it should have.
However the only talking point leading into the game demoted to the delayed broadcast on Channel Nine was the future of Cherry-Evans and the form slump of Blues halves Josh Reynolds and Hodkinson.
Reports surfaced on Thursday night suggesting the Manly halfback, who picked up a minor knee injury in the loss to Canterbury, was about to backflip on his decision to join the Titans next season.
Then, just an hour before kick off on Friday night, there were additional reports suggesting the Manly boss Joe Kelly and Cherry-Evans' management had met with Fox Sports to discuss a potential media deal that could entice him to remain in Sydney.
But the best playmaker on the field was actually playing in the centres, with Moses Mbye impressing the most as the halves around him continued to struggle to regain their best form.
The game was without internationals Josh Morris, Brett Morris, James Graham, David Klemmer, Sam Kasiano, Kieran Foran and Brett Stewart - not to mention the likes of Tim Lafai, Feleti Mateo and Brenton Lawrence also on the sidelines.
But in front of a crowd of 13,568, Canterbury compounded Manly's misfortune with a somewhat ugly victory to end a two-game losing streak.
It was a mistake from Willie Mason from the kick off that provided Canterbury with the opening points of the match, as Curtis Rona scored from the ensuing scrum to give his side a 4-0 lead after 61 seconds.
The next time the Bulldogs went on attack it was equally as effective, with Chase Stanley scoring in the opposite corner to give the home side a 10-0 lead after five minutes.
The Bulldogs had multiple opportunities to extend their lead however the video referee denied them on two separate occasions before Manly hit back through a fortunate try to Cherry-Evans, who regathered his own grubber after a ricochet from Reynolds.
On the stroke of half time the Sea Eagles reduced the deficit to just two points with skipper Jamie Lyon slotting a penalty goal from in front of the posts.
The second half didn't start much better for Canterbury after Tony Williams was put on report for a high shot on Justin Horo, allowing Peta Hiku to score in the ensuing set to give Manly a 12-10 lead.
But Canterbury regained the ascendancy after Mbye sliced through some feeble Manly defence to set up Frank Pritchard with his first try of the season, before Rona grabbed his second for the night and eighth of the year to give the Bulldogs a 20-12 advantage with 21 minutes remaining.
Mbye then grabbed a try of his own, and while the Sea Eagles scored another fortuitous four-pointer, it wasn't enough to peg back the Bulldogs as Corey Thompson sealed the deal with a try in the final minutes.
