The Dragons went down to the Rabbitohs 28-22 at Accor Stadium as they were forced to contend with an incredible five failed HIAs.
The Dragons' medical team was kept busy throughout the contest with Ha’ele Finau and Cyrus Stanley-Traill suffering head knocks in the opening quarter of the match.
Lyhkan King-Togia followed them early in the second stanza before Nathan Lawson and Nick Quinn clashed heads to take the HIA total up to five.
Despite the adversity, Willie Talau's men fought hard and found themselves within a converted try late in the encounter only for their last-ditch efforts to be denied.
Tyler Peckham-Harris finished the game in the halves alongside replacement player Declan Purcell with Tom Kirk shifting to the back and Dylan Coutts at right centre.
Match: Rabbitohs v Dragons
Round 7 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
4th Position
away Team
Dragons
2nd Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
South Sydney opened their account in their opening set through Jordi Mazzone as their skill men took advantage of some disorganised Dragons defence to make it 4-0.
Ha’ele Finau was taken from the field soon after for a HIA – which he failed – bringing Isaiah Fagalilo into the action and activating replacement player Declan Purcell.
The Dragons were dealt another blow moments later with Cyrus Stanley-Traill also leaving the field for a HIA – which he failed – as Dylan Coutts was inserted into the contest.
The visitors found a timely hit back a quarter of the way in with Lyhkan King-Togia using some nice deception to send Jarrah Treweek into space.
Treweek threw a brilliant dummy to breeze past the fullback and dive over as the Dragons earnt their first lead.
South Sydney managed their second soon after however with Bayleigh Bentley-Hape scurrying his way to the line as they retook the lead.
The Rabbitohs stormed right back onto the attack thanks to a Dragons kick-off error and they took full advantage with Mazzone somersaulting over in the corner for his second to make it 16-6.
Treweek found a second for the Dragons just shy of the intermission pouncing on a ricocheted King-Togia grubber with Tom Kirk's subsequent conversion cutting the deficit back to just four.
The Dragons started the second half in ideal fashion with Tyler Peckham-Harris getting on the outside of his man off an attacking scrum play and muscling his way to the stripe to lock things up at 16-apiece.
King-Togia left the field for a HIA moments later bringing Purcell into the match as the Dragons bench thinned out further.
Latrell Siegwalt scored a long-range try for the hosts just shy of the hour mark as they hit the front once more.
Nathan Lawson and Nick Quinn collided in the tackle attempt and both left the field for HIAs as the number of bodies on the visitors' bench evaporated completely.
The Rabbitohs took advantage of the Dragons' makeshift defensive line to cross again through Jay Kirk and make it 28-16 with 13 minutes left.
Refusing to go away, the Dragons found a try with nine minutes on the clock through Toby Rumble who took in a savvy intercept and streaked away untouched to cut the deficit back to a half-dozen.
Rumble went over again with three-and-a-half to play off a Peckham-Harris cut-out only for the officials to rule a forward pass as their comeback attempt fell short.
