Their finals' hopes effectively on the line, the ninth-placed Bulldogs trained with a skeleton crew ahead of Saturday's 44-14 thrashing of the Dragons at Allianz Stadium.
During the week, star back-rower Jacob Preston battled both headlines about his playing future and an elbow infection that required an IV drip.
"He actually didn't train with us the last two days, he was in hospital," coach Cameron Ciraldo said after full-time.
Right winger Jacob Kiraz finally managed to return to midweek training after playing through a torn calf for almost a month.
The Lebanese international had soldiered on with a tear in the other calf earlier in the season.
"It's not ideal, but it just shows the toughness of the guy," said Ciraldo.
Kiraz did such a good job of hiding his pain on game day that his injury had gone undetected by the public, only revealed by Ciraldo after full-time on Saturday.
Calf tears cannot be treated with painkilling needles, with Kiraz at a loss to explain how he had battled on since the round-22 defeat of Melbourne.
"I'm just staying at it. I don't know if it's the Leb food ... it must be something. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the prayers," Kiraz said.
Elsewhere, Bulldogs centre Matt Burton missed training to return to his hometown Dubbo following the death of his grandmother Christine.
"She was always supporting me through the younger grades and all that, so she was definitely watching over me tonight," Burton told AAP.
Given the important of the Dragons clash to the Bulldogs' season, Burton said there was never an option but to put the tragedy aside and lace up the boots.
"There was no question there," he said.
"It was a shock to our family but it was good to come out tonight and get the win for her."
Other Bulldogs players contended with COVID-19 during the week, some still showing symptoms on Saturday night.
"These things happen in a footy season," Ciraldo said of the Bulldogs' many misfortunes.
"Every team goes through them. A lot of them you don't hear about."
None of it seemed to shake the Bulldogs, who remain in the finals hunt ahead of another must-win clash against Penrith next week.
Burton and Preston finished a difficult week as two of the Bulldogs' best players in the defeat of the Dragons.
Preston cut through for the Bulldogs' third try then put Connor Tracey over in the second half with a lovely short ball
Playing on his non-preferred right side, Burton bagged two tries in the first half to help the Bulldogs take a game-defining 24-0 lead.
Burton felt pushing through adversity was the norm for the Bulldogs.
"The boys are just going to put their hands up: wounded or injured or sick. It doesn't matter, they just put the team first," he said.
