Dragons finish atop Rabbitohs at Jubilee

An early penalty put the Dragons in good ball with a deft Jaydn Su’A grubber earning the side a repeat set and paving the way for Zac Lomax to claim the opening points of the encounter.

Skipper Ben Hunt spotted a chance down the right corridor and placed a pinpoint grubber which Lomax managed to ground just inches inside the chalk.

Lomax converted his own try from just inside the eastern touchline as the scoreboard read 6-0 a dozen minutes in.

Hunt again injected himself into the attack the following set ducking his way into the backfield before finishing the set off with a pressure-building kick into the corner.

A textbook de Belin hit forced an error to put the hosts back on the attack soon after with Kyle Flanagan almost finding the side’s second off a botched in-goal clean-up.

Latrell Mitchell instead came up with a hit-back for the visitors off a Cody Walker grubber with the fullback converting his own try to tie things up just over a quarter of the way in.

Jack Bird grabbed the hosts’ second of the evening nosing his way through a hole off Tyrell Sloan to ground the ball on the stripe and wrestle the lead back.

A determined defensive push forced another Rabbitohs dropout five minutes out from the break with Mikaele Ravalawa going painstakingly close to crossing off the back of it only for ball to go to ground.

Walker was denied by the video officials just shy of halftime after a messy sequence in which both sides fumbled the loose ball.

Lomax capped off the first half with an outstanding two-point field goal – his second of 2024 – to improve the Dragons’ lead to 12-6.

An escort penalty in the opening set of the second stanza gave Lomax a chance at a penalty goal which he slotted to extend the lead beyond a converted try.

The Rabbitohs managed a response however through Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson who dove over in the left corner off a shift play with Mitchell’s conversion being waved away as the score remained 14-10.

A Ravalawa bone-rattler prevented what looked to be the Rabbitohs’ third four-pointer with a successful captain’s challenge earning the Dragons possession off the back of it.

Su’A got his name on the scoresheet an hour in off a perfect, left-footed Flanagan grubber to put the hosts back up beyond a converted try.

The second rower did supremely well given the wobbly fashion of the kick with Lomax adding the extras as the rain began to come down.

As the rain intensified, so did the Dragons contact with a Su’A whack forcing the ball loose 20 out from the Rabbitohs line and earning the hosts solid attacking field position once more.

A penalty the corresponding set provided Lomax an opportunity at a gift two points which he took as the lead grew to a dozen entering the final 15.

The Rabbitohs lost their captain’s challenge late in an attempt to overturn a Koloamatangi knock-on.

Sloan laid on another try for the Red V off the back of it with a heads-up grubber forcing a Mitchell error in-goal and paving the way for a chasing de Belin to pounce as the lead ballooned out to 28-10.

Mitchell grabbed his second of the evening off a pair of grubbers as the seconds ticked away with the fullback unable to convert his own try as their deficit remained beyond a pair of converted tries.