Josh Reynolds did his best John Hopoate impersonation against Canberra

Josh Reynolds channelled his inner John Hopoate during a bizarre moment in the Bulldogs' loss to the Canberra Raiders at Belmore Sports Ground on Monday night.

The Canterbury five-eighth appeared to tickle the backside of Canberra halfback Aidan Sezer while the playmaker was feeding a ball into a scrum. This reminded plenty of viewers of Hopoate, who was infamously suspended in 2001 when playing for the Wests Tigers after he was found guilty of inserting his fingers into opposition players' anuses.

Not sure what Josh Reynolds was playing at just before half time #NRLBulldogsRaiders #Matty @bryfletch pic.twitter.com/BaoCo66jWg

— Matt Jenkins (@MattJenkinsATC) April 4, 2016

The Canterbury number six is no stranger to a brain snap. Laurie Daley didn't retain him for the 2015 State of Origin series after he had a horror season that saw him suspended six times in 12 months - including one incident during the annual City vs Country fixture that sealed his omission from the Blues squad.

Last week the 26-year-old admitted he imploded under the pressure he put on himself to retain his sky blue jersey.

"For me, I exploded myself, I thought about it way too much and in the end it got me the wrong result," Reynolds said.

"It was all on me, my head wasn't in the right space and I'm happy to admit that."

He might want to steer clear of replicating any Hopoate specials if he wants to stay in the running for a spot in the halves during this year's interstate series.

The former NSW and Australian representative copped a massive 12-week ban courtesy of putting his fingers where they didn't belong (in three different players) during a match against the North Queensland Cowboys 15 years ago.

His defence that he was simply trying to give the Cowboys players a "wedgie" didn't fly with the judiciary, who came down hard on "Hoppa".

Reynolds' attempt to unsettle the Raiders didn't pay off, as Canberra proved they are genuine premiership contenders this year with a spirited 22-8 win.

- news.com.au