Three tries in the space of ten minutes before halftime has paved the way for the South Sydney Rabbitohs to extend their dominance over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the annual Good Friday clash.
Turning a 6-0 deficit into an 18-6 lead at the break after Jeremy Marshall-King was sent to the sin bin, opposing hooker, Damien Cook, was the star of the show with a hat-trick in the 36-16 result played before 30,194 supporters at Accor Stadium.
In a willing opening that saw both teams vie for ascendancy, the Bulldogs posted first points through Brent Naden (14th minute) after much-maligned halfback Kyle Flanagan delivered a terrific cut-out pass to send the winger over for his first try in blue and white colours.
Coming close to extending their lead through Braidon Burns midway through proceedings, the Bulldogs were made to pay for repeat infringements with Marshall-King sent to the sin bin.
Making the most of their one-man advantage, the Rabbitohs blew the game open before halftime with Cook (29th and 32nd minutes) grabbing a double in a matter of sets.
Play was stopped for several minutes to assist Chris Patolo from the field following a head clash with Josh Jackson, yet the delay did little to halt the Rabbitohs momentum with Alex Johnston (35th minute) finishing off a left side shift to give the home side a third try against 12 men.
The Rabbitohs continued the flow of points after the resumption with Cody Walker delivering a superb pass to send Johnston (42nd minute) over for his second of the afternoon.
Naden appeared to claim a much-needed try following a superbly placed kick from Flanagan, only for intervention from the bunker to overturn the decision due to a contentious knock on and effectively kill off any hope of a comeback.
Claiming the first hat-trick of his career with embarrassing ease, Cook (65th minute) split the Bulldogs defence from a scrum to give the Rabbitohs their fourth consecutive Good Friday victory.
Finally getting a result after persisting with towering bombs throughout the match, Matt Burton regathered his own kick and linked with Josh Addo-Carr (70th minute) in support after Blake Taaffe allowed the ball to bounce.
Playing the final quarter with the result beyond doubt, Isaiah Tass (74th minute) made his NRL debut one to remember with a try before Marshall-King (80th minute) crossed for a consolation four-pointer on fulltime to round out the scoring at 36-16.
Next week, the Rabbitohs face the Tigers on Saturday night at CommBank Stadium, while the Bulldogs travel to Suncorp Stadium to take on the Broncos in Friday night football.