Dragons 38
Rabbitohs 24
Canterbury gave South Sydney a golden chance to sneak into the NRL top eight but they weren't good enough to take it, beaten 38-24 by St George Illawarra on Sunday night.
The Bulldogs' earlier 30-24 win over Manly meant Souths could have made a last-gasp hop into the finals if they toppled the Dragons by five points or more in the last match of the regular season.
St George Illawarra also gave their opponents a boost by resting stars Jamie Soward, Ben Hornby, Dean Young and Jeremy Smith from action.
But while their team-sheet gave the impression they were taking their foot off the pedal, the minor premiers were ruthless in jumping to a quick 18-0 lead courtesy of a Ben Creagh hat-trick.
The dynamic secondrower scored three tries in the space of 11 minutes to boost the Dragons' confidence ahead of next weekend's clash with a wounded Manly, and end the Rabbitohs' hopes of a fairytale finish.
It was a great day all-round for St George Illawarra, with Canterbury's win over the Sea Eagles ensuring they avoided bogey side Canberra in week one of the finals.
St George Illawarra took a commanding 26-6 lead into the break and, despite giving Souths a small sniff at 32-18 with 14 minutes left, they never really looked like losing.
Wayne Bennett's men sealed Souths' fate with 12 minutes remaining, when centre Matt Cooper bagged his 100th career try following a 'falcon' by team-mate Jarrod Saffy.
The Rabbitohs butchered several chances to make the finals in the last two months of the competition, although a heavy injury toll didn't help.
They tried hard against the Dragons, but were outclassed by a team who will start the playoffs as comfortable title favourites despite their reputation for folding under pressure.
Creagh's first try in the sixth minute came after a smart last-tackle play down the left side of the field.
Creagh collected again off a kick shortly after and completed his treble in the 17th minute when Nathan Fien gave him a well-timed short ball.
Souths stayed alive with a first-half try to Fetuli Talanoa and back-to-back four-pointers in the second half to Jamie Simpson and Dylan Farrell.
The Dragons' only worry is secondrower Beau Scott who was put on report for a late shot on Chris Sandow in the 60th minute.
- AAP
