Red and green side snap their losing streak.
NRL heavyweights South Sydney have stopping their losing streak at three after they beat St George Illawarra 26-6 at the SCG.
After stunning the reigning premiers the Sydney Roosters in the first round, the Bunnies were under the pump for the next three weekends as losses and rumours of off-field tension between players began to circle.
However, much of that was put to bed in a dominant performance against the Dragons, with the Bunnies able to give a victory to John Sutton as he set a new mark for most appearances in the famous red and green strip.
While for St George the loss sees them lose some of the momentum that earned as they look to bounce back from their horror 2013 season.
To begin the game both side’s handling while heavily on the attack let them down early in the game as possession was played in between the 20 metre lines.
A penalty from Trent Merrin stripping the ball in the tackle gave Adam Reynolds a chance to open the scoring for the Bunnies.
And one of the real sharpshooters of the NRL did not disappoint as he landed the kick to see Souths lead 2-0 after 11 minutes.
Four penalties inside the first 15 minutes allowed Souths to keep the pressure on but the Dragons were disciplined in their defensive effort on their line.
Eventually the Rabbitohs were able to turn the Dragons around, with the red and green team crossing the line and scoring through Joel Reddy.
However, a knock-on from Ben Te’o in the lead-up to Reddy touching down was found by the video referee and the four points were taken away from the Bunnies.
The penalties continued to flow for the Rabbitohs, with the count reaching 6-1, with the bulk of possession meaning they needed to turn the pressure into points or risk ruing their missed chances.
And Luke Burgess put his body on the line as he reached out while being upended in the tackle, as he slammed the ball down on the line next to the uprights.
Reynolds potted the extras to give Souths an eight-point lead, which is in stark contrast to their form of the past three weeks, which saw them play from behind too often.
Souths then had concerns for Te’o as he left the field after 30 minutes with on a concussion substitute, while Reddy also received treatment for his left knee, but returned to his place in the defensive line.
Gareth Widdop and Josh Dugan then combined, with a clever kick back on the inside taken by the Dragons fullback before he twisted in the tackle and seemingly grounding the ball.
The on-field referees ruled no try saying Dugan lost the ball in trying to score, and the red lights was shown to the Red V as their frustrating half continued.
The Rabbitohs’ luck continued as a tap-back from Reddy found Jason Clark who barged over as the lead grew to 14 for the Rabbitohs at half-time.
Souths went over again in the 54th minute through Sam Burgess, before an Inglis four-point put the game out of reach for the Dragons, who had concerns as Jason Nightingale and Brett Morris being placed in report for dangerous tackles.
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