Josh Dugan all but sealed the NSW State of Origin fullback jersey despite St George Illawarra going down to South Sydney 16-10 at ANZ Stadium on Monday night.
Dugan was a standout in a losing side as the Rabbitohs snapped a three-game losing streak to get their premiership defence back on track.
He was not expected to play after copping a knee injury he suffered in last week’s trans-Tasman Test and made a timely statement of his value to Blues coach Laurie Daley.
>>>See how all the action unfolded in our live blog.
After Brett Stewart returned to form with a two-try effort for Manly on Sunday, Dugan ensured he stayed at the top of the Blues pecking order with a busy performance.
He was excellent in attack and defence, making a game-high 268 metres, including a scintillating 70 metre break which gave the Dragons a late opportunity to even up the game, however the attacking raid ultimately failed.
The Rabbitohs went up 2-0 after the Dragons were penalised for a Mike Cooper high shot on John Sutton, the former Souths captain poked in the eye during the incident.
Sutton, in his first game back from a broken jaw, came off soon after and did not returning for the rest of the match.
Dylan Walker and Adam Reynolds made timely returns to push their State of Origin claims however were made to look ordinary when Peter Mata’utia sliced through their attempted tackles and put Gareth Widdop over.
The Rabbitohs evened things up when Greg Inglis threw a lovely cut-out pass for Aaron Gray who crossed for his first NRL try.
Jason Nightingale scored in the shadows of halftime but the Dragons winger undid his hard work when he produced a soft attempted tackle on his own goal-line which allowed Gray to get his second and even things up.
The Rabbitohs went ahead through Alex Johnston when they were gifted four sets of six on the Dragons’ goal-line after receiving three tough penalties and hung on for the win.
After announcing his move the to the Warriors next year, Souths did not start Issac Luke, opting to run Cameron McInnes at hooker.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
Over the last two weeks while I’ve been watching the footy I’ve been reminded of the career of Nick Kyrgios. He is an incredibly…
Help is on the way for under-fire South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou, with the club adding the experienced David Furner as his assistant, tasked…
The NRL 360 crew think 20-year-old Jye Gray may continue to play at fullback even after Latrell Mitchell returns from his suspension.
South Sydney, if you've had your head in the sand, aren’t in the best of shape. They looked better on Saturday night in defeat…
Jason Demetriou will get more time to turn South Sydney around with Bunnies bosses set to give the coach a stay of execution. The…
