South Sydney Defeated in 42nd Charity Shield

South Sydney have suffered a 20-point loss in the 42nd Charity Shield match, going down to St George Illawarra at Glen Willow Stadium in Mudgee.

The Rabbitohs endured a very tough start to the game, conceding six tries to find themselves behind 34-0 after 28 minutes.

There was a hint of a comeback for South Sydney late in the first half and early in the second, with Jye Gray, Keaon Koloamatangi and Jamie Humphreys producing some enterprising play to get their side back into the game.

It wasn’t enough to stop the Dragons however, who managed a couple of late tries to put the result out of South Sydney’s reach.

A string of errors and penalties saw the Dragons dominate possession in the early exchanges. They proved particularly hard to handle on their left edge, with left winger Sione Finau crossing for four tries before going off for a HIA late in the first half.

With the Dragons firmly in the ascendency, Jye Gray decided to stand up and get the comeback underway for the Rabbitohs.

Gray opened South Sydney’s account in the 33rd minute, pouncing on his own grubber kick to get his side back in the game.

He then had a hand in the Rabbitohs’ second try, busting through a couple of would-be tackles from the Dragons, before unloading to Jayden Sullivan, who ran in to score untouched against his former club.

The Rabbitohs began the second half with just 12 men on the field after Lewis Dodd was retrospectively sin binned for a high shot on Dragons’ wing Sione Finau, who failed his HIA during the halftime break.

The one-man disadvantage didn’t stop South Sydney from continuing their comeback, with Jamie Humphreys pulling the strings to send Keaon Koloamatangi over for a double in the first 10 minutes of the half.

Humphreys then took matters into his own hands with an incisive run close to the line, beating three Dragons defenders to score and reduce the South Sydney deficit to just 8 points.

The South Sydney comeback was looking promising until Moses Suli crossed for the Dragons at the hour mark to put their lead out to 14 points. They then sealed the win with a try to Ryan Couchman in the 67th minute for a final score of 46-26.

Match Snapshot

• St George Illawarra opened the scoring through Sione Finau in the 6th minute.
• Matthew Feagai was next to cross for the Dragons in the 11th minute.
• Lachlan Ilias finished off a long range movement to score in the 14th minute.
• Finau scored another three tries in the first half before going off for a HIA after suffering a knock in the lead up to his final try in the 28th minute.
• Jye Gray proved to be a bright spark for the Rabbitohs, scoring a great solo try in the 33rd minute and setting one up for Jayden Sullivan in the 38th minute.
• A double to Keaon Koloamatangi early in the second half saw the Rabbitohs well and truly back in the contest, reducing their deficit to just 14 points at the 50-minute mark.
• Jamie Humphreys was next to score for the Rabbitohs just three minutes later.
• The Dragons wrestled back momentum with a try to Moses Suli in the 60th minute.
• Ryan Couchman sealed the result for the Dragons with a try in the 67th minute.

Play of the Game

This week’s play of the game goes to Jye Gray’s first try in the 33rd minute. Staring down the barrel of a 34-0 score line after just half an hour, Gray stood up to be counted with a fantastic solo effort, regathering his own perfectly-placed grubber kick to open South Sydney’s account for the day.

What’s Next?

South Sydney will dust themselves off and regroup before travelling up to Suncorp Stadium to open their 2025 NRL campaign against the Dolphins.