South Sydney Rabbitohs vs St George Illawarra Dragons: NRL live scores, blog

Round 24 of the NRL premiership continues this afternoon when the South Sydney Rabbitohs take on the St George Illawarra Dragons at Barlow Park in Cairns. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3:00pm (AEST).

The Rabbitohs’ magical mystery tour of Australia continues this round. Perth one week, Cairns the next. It’s taking their brand to various parts of the country, but this week the most important part is to get the win.

South Sydney lost 26-16 to the Sharks last weekend, but the end result flattered the Rabbitohs. 26-0 down, after 60 minutes, to a team short of confidence, was a poor look.

It wasn’t that long ago that South Sydney were viewed as legitimate premiership contenders. They clearly have the squad on paper to go deep in September. However, Origin seems to have stalled their progress and things are getting a little desperate.

In team changes, Shaquai Mitchell comes in for the suspended Thomas Burgess. Jacob Host and Taane Milne both come into the line up. Jai Arrow has been named but must be in some doubt.

The Dragons were perhaps unlucky last weekend against the Eels, going down 26-20 in a thriller. However, with a 20-10 lead after 50 minutes, they should have gone on with the job.

It does prove though that the Dragons are no pushover at the back end of this season. In recent weeks, Tyrell Sloan and Mikaele Ravalawa have been damaging on their right edge, so Alex Johnston could be in for a rugged afternoon.

Francis Molo is out due to concussion protocols, so brother Michael moves to prop, Ben Murdoch-Masila has been named at lock and Toby Couchman gets a spot on the bench. Moses Suli returns from injury. In a big blow, Zac Lomax is out with a shoulder injury and is replaced by Max Feagai.

Prediction

I think this will be a lot closer than most people will think.

However, the Rabbitohs need to win to stay in the top 8 and that motivation should prove enough. Rabbitohs by 8

Game information

Venue: Barlow Park, Cairns
Kick-off: 3:00pm (AEST)
TV: Fox Sports
Streaming: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
Odds: Rabbitohs $1.11 Dragons $6.50 – odds via PlayUp

Rabbitohs: 1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Isaiah Tass 4. Campbell Graham 5. Taane Milne 6. Cody Walker 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Jai Arrow 9. Damien Cook 10. Shaquai Mitchell 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jacob Host 13. Cameron Murray 14. Tallis Duncan 15. Jed Cartwright 16. Siliva Havili 17. Davvy Moale 18. Ben Lovett 19. Tyrone Munro 20. Peter Mamouzelos 21. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 22. Dean Hawkins

Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Max Feagai 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Michael Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Billy Burns 12. Dan Russell 13. Ben Murdoch-Masila 14. Connor Muhleisen 15. Ryan Couchman 16. Toby Couchman 17. Zane Musgrove 18. Jaiyden Hunt 19. Sione Finau 20. Nick Lui-Toso 21. Paul Turner 22. Tautau Moga