South Sydney’s representative stars stole the show on Saturday afternoon in Mudgee, as the Rabbitohs won an entertaining Charity Shield game 42-24 over the Dragons.
Blues representatives Damien Cook and Cameron Murray combined to do much of the damage through the opening 40 minutes, setting up three of their side’s four first-half tries, while Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker and Jai Arrow all scored to give the Rabbitohs a 26-0 lead at the break.
Up 32-0 early in the second half, the Rabbitohs looked on track to run up the biggest winning margin in Charity Shield history, before a much-improved effort from the Dragons saw them outscore South Sydney 24-16 in the second half.
It didn’t take long for St George Illawarra’s weaknesses to be exposed in the 36-degree heat at Glen Willow Oval, and along with their leaky defence a major concern will be the confidence of young fullback Tyrell Sloan, who in between some good moments on attack made four errors at the back.
Despite the end scoreline, South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou, who rested most of his big names for the final 15 minutes, will likely look back with some concern at a sloppy second half which saw his team make six errors and give up four tries.
The win sees the Rabbitohs reassume the overall lead in the Charity Shield standings, with 18 wins to the Dragons’ 17, and five draws between the two sides.
Source: NRL.com