Rabbitohs sizzle Saints as Su'a gets sent

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South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George Illawarra Dragons

South Sydney returned to the winners' list with a controlled 30-12 victory over St George Illawarra at Accor Stadium. A crowd of 15,116 watched a match that remained competitive for an hour before a late send‑off to Jaydn Su'A ended any chance of a Dragons comeback.

The Rabbitohs opened the scoring through Latrell Mitchell, who finished a left‑side shift after a successful captain's challenge kept the ball with Souths. Mitchell missed the conversion, but a penalty goal soon after extended the lead to 6-0. The Dragons responded strongly. Damien Cook, captaining the side after a late reshuffle, broke through the middle and combined with Toby Couchman to score beside the posts. Valentine Holmes converted to level the match.

Momentum stayed with the visitors when Hamish Stewart ran onto a short ball close to the line and scored under the posts. Holmes converted again for a 12-6 lead. Souths steadied and worked their way back into field position. Mitchell crossed for his second try after Alex Johnston made a break down the left. Mitchell missed the conversion, but the Rabbitohs continued to build pressure. Just before halftime, Johnston scored after a long pass from Brandon Smith created space on the edge. Mitchell converted from the sideline to give Souths a 16-12 lead at the break.

The second half began with an error from Cody Walker, giving the Dragons early field position, but they were unable to turn it into points. Souths then struck through Matt Dufty, who scored on the right after supporting a broken‑play movement. Mitchell missed the conversion, leaving the margin at eight points.

The Dragons had several opportunities to respond. Set restarts and penalties helped them into attacking territory, but their execution faltered. A potential try to Campbell Graham was ruled out by the bunker, and another promising movement ended with Tyrell Sloan unable to handle a pass. Souths also had discipline issues, with Peter Mamouzelos placed on report twice and sent to the sin bin for a hip drop, but the Dragons could not take advantage.

The match turned decisively in the 69th minute when Su'A was sent off for high contact on Cameron Murray. Souths received a penalty and immediately shifted into attacking mode.

Mitchell completed his hat‑trick on the left edge, pushing the lead to 24-12. With the Dragons down a player, Souths controlled the final stages. Mitchell scored his fourth try with five minutes remaining, finishing another left‑side movement. He converted from in front to close out the scoring at 30-12.

The Rabbitohs were far from perfect but produced enough quality in key moments to secure the result. Their left edge was the difference, with Johnston and Mitchell combining for five tries. The Dragons competed well for long periods but were undone by errors, missed opportunities and the late send‑off that removed any chance of a late challenge.

Souths will move forward with renewed confidence, but for the Dragons it's crisis areas with the side now 0-7 and having lost 11 straight NRL games dating back to the back-end of 2025.