South Sydney have made it back-to-back NRL wins to open the Wayne Bennett era after easily dispatching of St George Illawarra 34-18 on Friday.
A week after beating Sydney Roosters in the season opener, the Rabbitohs used a dominant second-half to fight back from a six-point halftime deficit.
It was Sam Burgess who was the catalyst, scoring a try and setting up another in a game-turning four-minute period early in the second period.
The England international completed a powerful performance with a second four-pointer in a six-try rout at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
“That’s what he brings. He’s one of the best forwards in the game and one of the best forwards that ever played the game,” Bennett said.
“He just put his stamp on the game, didn’t he? That’s what they do. That’s what the good ones do.”
Adam Reynolds put on another halfback masterclass, while Braidon Burns appears to have justified Bennett’s decision to play at left centre over Greg Inglis.
Burgess, who was also shifted to the edge this year by Bennett, finished with 157 metres, while Burns scored a try and also finished with a game-high 168 metres.
The only concern was a suspected shoulder injury to skipper Greg Inglis, who played through the pain and finished the game.
Down 12-6 at the break, Burgess barged over from close range in the 43rd minute before offloading for Cody Walker not long after.
Campbell Graham sealed the victory in the 62nd minute courtesy of a dubious forward pass, which drew the ire of the 10,080 crowd.
The defeat was an opportunity missed for a depleted Dragons side missing representative forwards Jack de Belin and Tyson Frizell.
The signs were ominous early for the Rabbitohs when Tariq Sims strolled through their defensive line only to fluff his grounding in the third minute.
The Dragons’ big men were rolling through the ruck at ease against a Rabbitohs pack that appeared fatigued early in the contest.
And while it was the visitors who drew first blood on Cameron Murray’s 50-metre run, Jordan Pereira went over twice in ten minutes to claim the lead for the hosts.
The first was a neat flick pass from centre partner Tim Lafai, before completing his brace off a three-man cutout pass from Corey Norman.
But the Dragons fell off alarmingly in the second half to slump to back-to-back defeats to open their season.
In a sour note for the Rabbitohs, forward Liam Knight was reported for a chicken-wing tackle on James Graham in the 28th minute.
Veteran John Sutton also came off in the first half and failed to return.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor said it was the second week in a row his team were unable to replicate a strong first half effort.
“For two weeks in a row, they had six sets to one and scored two tries in seven minutes. And the game swung the other way,” he said.
“There’s good there, but it’s not sustained for 80 minutes and that’s the disappointing thing at the moment.”
William W
Roar Rookie
The Rabbitohs were missing George Burgess (Suspended) Adam Doueihi (ACL) plus Kurt Dillon (Achilles Tendon) Dillon was widely tipped and was fully expected to be in the 17. Kyle Turner and Mark Nicholls will be in reserve Grade when these players return!
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
Yeah, I'm especially happy with how some of the players (especially Reyno) are playing with so much confidence. I think Bennett should take them to another level.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
We'll discuss that after number 8 later this year ????
Rob
Guest
Sam Burgess “one of the best forwards to ever play the game”? He is error riddled and dumb. He threw an intercepted pass, dropped the ball and was fortunate to receive a penalty for dropping another. The Dargons are struggling with JDB and Frizzel. All of the Rabbits points came of the back of errors and penalties, some of which were poor refereeing mistakes. If the Rabbits play the Storm like that they would get hammered. No wonder Bennett is clueless when it comes to talent identification. Motivational speaking and player BS whispering, yes. Murray was much better than Burgess IMO.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Classic - I swear it wasn’t me!! I like the aeroguard story more...! You must be happy with this start...?
Con Scortis
Roar Guru
Hi TB, I really didn't know much about Knight and had a look at his Wikipedia entry this morning. Somebody was having a bit of fun: "Liam Knight (born 15 January 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. In 2019, it was revealed his favourite food was Chicken Wings.[2]"
The Barry
Roar Guru
Was that somewhere between premierships six and seven...?
Emcie
Roar Guru
You're giving Bennett too much credit, he's clearly past it and lost his aura years ago.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Hunts reads in defense were woeful . He rushed up twice and the Rabbitohs scored two tries. I remember the same poor judgement when he was at the Broncs. He is not and never will be a million dollar man.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
GI has to be injured but his defence was poor even before he took a knock early in the second half. 10 tackles and 6 misses.... Meanwhile Gagai is just spiraling down. He may have to get picked out of NSW Cup to play Origin for QLD - that will test their pick and stick loyalty policy Burgess had very good moments, Reynolds was fine. Hunt was the best half in the field in the first half but then the Dragons just lost all shape and direction in the second half. At one point in the second half the Dragons had a set where the dummy halves were Hunt, Norman, Widdop, Hunt on consecutive tackles. I suppose you have to give it some time but sheesh they went from being all in sync to all over the shop. That said it was no surprise the Dragons ran out of juice given they were on the short turnaround with travel while the opposition was well rested.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I think it’s injury rather than weight that’s Inglis’ issue at the moment. I know he’s skipper and a great player but it’s pointless playing him busted. It looked like it was hurting even having ice on his shoulder in the sheds after the game. What is it about Inglis that coaches want to grind him into the dirt. It’s not as bad as roadkill making him play with a torn ACL a couple of years ago. They’re rarely going Inglis’ side of tenfield at the moment anyway so they may as well give him a rest and a chance to get his shoulder right.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Spot on TB, Reynolds and Burns are like different players this year but Burns is the one that has surprised me, as he was ridiculed and probably never taken seriously after that nightmare at Panthers park when Cleary's bomb fest absolutely destroyed him 2 years ago. All in all the Bunnies look ok but need allot of improvement, especially with that first half performance last night. GI is a big worry with his shape and injuries, if GI is injured Bennett needs to reshuffle the centres and I think he should give that kid Cory Allan a go, who's got big wraps on him, also, Doueihi is still injured and could be a chance as a replacement.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Burgess was outstanding. The move to the edge agrees with him. He’s getting a bit more room in attack but still getting plenty of carries. No doubt Bennett will cut his kicking leg off after that air swing grubber! Liam Knight made a few basic errors (what do you expect from a bloke that sprays aeroguard in his mouth to beat a breathalyser) but made some strong runs in the middle third. Early days but Reynolds looks to have finally gone to the next level under Bennett. He’s playing with a lot of confidence which to me has been his problem moreso than ability. Braidon Burns is killing it too. He’s their go to strike centre rather than Inglis at the moment. Credit to Bennett - he can spot them. Burns has been around for a couple of years, played a few games here and there, mostly on the wing. Bennett comes in, gives him a role, backs him and next thing you know he’s playing out of his skin.