The Rabbitohs have kept the Charity Shield in their grasp with a dominant performance over the Dragons in their first hit out of the year.
In what started off a tight affair, the Rabbitohs managed to get on top of their opposition in the second half to ultimately storm with a 28-6 victory.
The Dragons threatened early down the right hand side, with Tom Eisenhuth going close after gathering in a Ben Hunt chip kick before being pushed into touch by Alex Johnston and Jacob Gagai in cover.
The Rabbitohs too had their chances, going particularly close in the 22nd minute after Tevita Tatola nearly slipped through a hole in the defence thanks to some exquisite late footwork at the line.
After a 36 minute stalemate, the Rabbitohs were finally able to open the scoring through Jacob Host, who pounced on a loose ball to score untouched after some big contact from Lachlan Ilias forced an error from the Dragons close to the line.
The Dragons hit back in a matter of minutes, with Mikaele Ravalawa cleaning up a stray pass and running 45m to score next to the posts, levelling the scores at 6-all on the stroke of halftime.
The Rabbitohs took back the lead shortly after the break when returning Rabbitoh Braidon Burns found his way over the line to put his side ahead 12-6.
It was some crafty short passing from Cameron Murray in the middle to new recruit Sean Keppie which drew in the defence. A Keppie offload and a quick shift through the hands to the right saw Burns complete a relatively easy finish by his standards.
Davvy Moale was next to get his name on the score sheet, crashing over under the posts off a crisp ball from Peter Mamouzelos at dummy half.
With time rapidly disappearing, Souths had their eye on a 5th try for a bonus point on the NRL Pre Season Challenge ladder.
A late error from the Dragons saw Souths gifted one final opportunity, and they would not be denied, with Richie Kennar scoring on full time off a Taane Milne chip kick to secure the victory.
Burns then put the result beyond doubt with his second try of the match. This time, he was the benefactor of a beautiful Harbour Bridge-style cut-out ball from former Raider Jarrett Subloo, who was making his first appearance in the red and green.
Match Snapshot
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Both sides traded attacking opportunities in what was an exciting, but scoreless first quarter, with plenty of near misses in attack.
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Souths open the scoring in the 37th minute through Jacob Host, who pounced on a loose ball after Lachlan Ilias forced an error from the Dragons with some big contact on Tyrell Sloan.
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Dragons hit back on the stroke of half time after Mikaele Ravalawa cleans up a stray pass and runs 45m to score untouched for 6-all at the halfway point.
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Souths draw first blood in the second half with a try to Braidon Burns to take back the lead at 12-6.
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Davvy Moale extends the Rabbitohs’ lead to 18-6, crashing over under the posts in the 63rd minute.
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Braidon Burns scores his second try for the game off a peach of a ball from Jarrett Subloo.
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The Rabbitohs secure the bonus point with a try to Richie Kennar as the full time siren sounds
Play of the Game
It was the third try of the night which gave the Rabbitohs their ascendancy and ultimately saw them finish on top in this context. Some very smooth interplay between Cameron Murray and Sean Keppie in the middle created the space needed for a big shift to the right, which saw Braidon Burns crash over for his first try back in Rabbitohs’ colours.
What’s Next?
A trip to PointsBet Stadium to play archrivals the Sydney Roosters in round 2 of the NRL Pre-Season Challenge, as part of a double header which also sees the Sharks play the Bulldogs.
