Saints swamp Souths in Kogarah tryfest

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St George Illawarra Dragons v South Sydney Rabbitohs

St George Illawarra have held on for a 36-30 win over South Sydney at a packed Kogarah Oval this afternoon, with the Bunnies scoring three late tries to put a fright through the home fans.

A mad-cap final five minutes saw the Bunnies close a 36-14 deficit to just six points by the siren, with a lethal right side led by Campbell Graham making the impossible look probable if it weren't for a crucial error inside the final 30 seconds.

The Rabbitohs started the scoring nine minutes into the contest when Richie Kennar took advantage of an overlap on the right edge to get his side's scoreboard account started.

Ben Hunt scored a superb try to get the home team on the board several minutes later, with Mat Feagai looking like he'd been brought down before getting up untouched and finding Hunt steaming onto it. Lomax's conversion put the hosts ahead by two, before a try to Mikaele Ravalawa not too long after pushed the lead to 10-4.

The Red V added a penalty to remain in control inside the final ten minutes of the opening half, but some lacklustre competition for the ball in their own half allowed Keaon Koloamatangi to score almost unencumbered, reducing the margin to four - a 12-8 lead for the Dragons at the break.

Eleven into the second half Jacob Liddle was the next player to grab the game by the horns, scoring from dummy half to stretch to 18-8. A Damien Cook line break followed and Souths struck back through Isaiah Tass for a tense 18-14 scoreline and twenty-five minutes left to play.

From there - the Dragons blew the Bunnies away. Former Rabbitoh Jaydn Su'a cruelled his old club's chances of rising to the top of the competition with a try around the hour mark, Lomax's conversion stretching things out to eight points.

Four-pointers for Michael Molo and Jaiyden Hunt - both converted by Lomax for six - ensured the Dragons were well-headed at 36-14, but as the clock counted down, South Sydney managed to inflict significant damage on the home team.

A three-try raid - all coming down the Dragons' porous left side defence - saw Jacob Host, Lachlan Ilias and Campbell Graham all clamber over in consecutive minutes; the resulting shrunken margin meaning the Dragons - who were on track to jump up 16th over the Tigers on differential, instead languish in last place.

It's not all roses for Souths, who will sink to fourth or even fifth depending on tomorrow's Storm-Sharks result. Both teams enjoy the bye next week - the Dragons return to action on Friday week after Origin II when they host the Warriors at WIN Stadium. South Sydney's next game is in a fortnight as well, hosting North Queensland at Accor.