While off the field, it was all about the first match in the 112-year history of first grade rugby league to be played behind closed doors, the Cowboys were inspired by a monster game from Jason Taumalolo, who had the most powerful game by a forward in NRL history.
Taumalolo led from the front as the Cowboys ran in four first-half tries to all but wrap the match up in the opening 40 minutes.
The Cowboys lock ran 304 metres in total according to Fox Sports Stats' provisional numbers, the most by a forward in the NRL era as he beat his previous record of 301. Channel Nine had him at 345m from 26 runs.
Taumalolo was everywhere with his 25 runs, as he ran more metres in the first half than all of the Bulldogs's starting pack combined.
He finished with six tackle busts and one line break to go with his record yardage haul, proving he needs no crowd to inspire him.
"It was a bit odd playing in front of no fans but of the day we had, I think the boys were ready to go in there, play and leave straight away," Taumalolo admitted.
His try helped set up a 22-6 half-time lead, when he stayed alive after getting the ball to Francis Molo before collecting an offload to cross.
Canterbury didn't help themselves either, completing just 25 sets and missed 32 tackles, as their possession share sat at below 40 per cent for the majority of the match.
Two tries for the Bulldogs made it a bit closer but it was too little too late in the historic night.
It was an odd night however, with Cowboys coach Paul Green spoke to Channel 9 before play started about the strange new world for the NRL.
"I don't think many of us have been through something like this before," he said. "It's a really eerie, weird feeling out in the middle of such a big stadium and having no one here."
It is truly bizarre to see a completely empty stadium.
Speaking post-game on The Late Show with Matty Johns, the panel spoke about the first game behind closed doors.
Bryan Fletcher called it "a bit of a fizzer".
Johns said "at least it's on.
Gordon Tallis also added "It's not perfect but if it's a great classic game you might get into it a bit more".
The Cowboys were also the first team to take a private charter to NSW for the game.
But after round one when the fans got their first and last taste of the season for the foreseeable future, there will be some new trends continuing for the weekend.
The Daily Telegraph's Phil Rothfield reported three new rules for the weekend as the NRL tries to keep players on the field.
Interchange benches will be 20m apart from each other and each chair on the bench will be 1.5m apart, the spacing between people currently recommended in public.
But the third rule is the footballs being washed every 10 minutes, continuing scenes from last Sunday at the match between Manly and Melbourne.
The balls were disinfected on the sidelines as the ball went out of play during the game with the ball boys also wearing gloves.
Commentator Andrew Johns laughed and asked "are you serious?"
Sterling added: "I thought it was the Manly club trying to make it harder for Melbourne to handle the football".
But the odd act has continued for the new round as the NRL tries to work out its new normal during the pandemic.
The ball washing has been ridiculed since last week with some questioning that if a player did have coronavirus, surely it would be transmitted in a scrum, tackle or team huddle rather than by the ball.
The NRL has admitted several times this week that it would be "catastrophic" if the game had to stop and was unable to play out the season.
The few members of the public able to go to the games still — the media — have also been questioned on their way into the ground.
