Updated
South Sydney is immediately back in the winners' circle with a dominant 32-4 victory over an out-of-form Gold Coast at Skilled Park on Saturday evening.
SCOREBOARD: GLD 4-28 SOU
 | 4-32 |  |
|---|---|---|
| at Skilled Park, July 27 2013 | ||
| Tackles: | Ashley Harrison (GLD) - 40 | |
| Hit-Ups: | George Burgess (SOU) - 19 | |
| Offloads: | Issac Luke (SOU) - 3 | |
| Run (m): | George Burgess (SOU) - 188 | |
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Interview: Luke Keary
Interview: Nathan Merritt
Interview: Michael Maguire
Interview: John Cartwright
And St George Illawarra failed to produce a second miracle comeback in a week, as Canberra continued its stranglehold of the Dragons with a 22-18 in Wollongong on Saturday evening.
Led by English brothers Sam and George Burgess and youngster Luke Keary, the Rabbitohs quickly banished the disappointment of Monday's loss to St George Illawarra.
The heavy defeat is the Titans' fourth in a row and leaves them running out of time to claw their way back into the top eight with just six matches remaining.
Sam Burgess grabbed a try double, while 21-year-old Keary scored his first NRL tries with a late pair of four-pointers.
Sam's younger brother George Burgess was the other try scorer for the Rabbitohs while winger Kevin Gordon scored the only points for the Titans in the 62nd minute.
Veteran winger Matt King did not get on the scoreboard but performed excellently on his return from a broken arm to set up Keary's first try.
You take for granted how special it is sometimes playing in the NRL.
Matt King
"You take for granted how special it is sometimes playing in the NRL," King told Grandstand.
'Last week I warmed up with the boys and put a jumper on and almost started crying, so this week the boss (Michael Maguire) showed some faith in me and gave me a start and I couldn't be happier."
Souths' win ensures they will hold onto top spot on the ladder regardless of the result of Sunday's clash between second-placed Sydney Roosters and Newcastle.
The Titans, who missed a whopping 51 tackles, could be two matches outside the top eight by the end of the weekend depending on results.
Adding to the home team's woes, hooker Matt Srama looks set to miss most of the remaining weeks of the season after suffering a high ankle sprain in the first half.
South Sydney: 32 (S Burgess 2, L Keary 2, G Burgess tries; A Reynolds 4/4 cons, D Waker 1/1 con; A Reynolds 1/1 pen)
Gold Coast: 4 (K Gordon try)
One of the NRL's most extraordinary hoodoos remains unbroken, the Dragons having now won only one of their past 17 matches against the Raiders with their last victory coming in 2007.
SCOREBOARD: SGI 18-22 CAN
 | 18-22 |  |
|---|---|---|
| at Wollongong, July 27 2013 | ||
| Tackles: | Shaun Fensom (CAN) - 50 | |
| Hit-Ups: | Trent Merrin (SGI) - 21 | |
| Offloads: | Trent Merrin (SGI) - 3 | |
| Run (m): | Jarrod Croker (CAN) - 168 | |
View full stats sheet
Interview: David Furner
Interview: Glen Buttriss
Full-back Anthony Milford was the star of the show as he outpointed former Canberra star Josh Dugan, who ended the game on the bench after copping a knee to the head in some friendly fire.
Milford came up with a crucial try as well as a vital take of a bomb late in the game when the Dragons threatened a repeat of Monday night's heroics when they scored three late tries to upset ladder leaders South Sydney.
Dragons coach Steve Price praised the commitment of his troops, but noted that effort is not always rewarded on the scoreboard.
"It's been like that all year," he told Grandstand.
"It's been our season through our sheer effort, so I can't fault that. But at the end of the day footy games aren't won on that, it's won on a combination of things."
Any momentum the Dragons hoped to gain from the win over the Rabbitohs was snuffed out with two poor lapses either side of the half-time break.
... at the end of the day footy games aren't won on that, it's won on a combination of things.
Steve Price
The first dagger came in the 39th minute when a nicely worked set play sent Milford galloping downfield and Reece Robinson scored in the corner on the next play.
Two minutes after the re-start, Shaun Berrigan waltzed over when the Dragons' markers went to sleep.
That gave the visitors a 16-6 lead, but when former Raider Bronson Harrison ran a brilliant line to go over out wide, the home side was within a converted try.
Just as it seemed the tide was turning Chase Stanley came up with a dropped ball inside his own 20 and Milford added another highlight to his impressive rookie campaign as he stepped around five defenders to score next to the posts.
The Dragons threatened late when Brett Morris latched onto an Adam Quinlan grubber eight minutes from full-time.
The Raiders thought they had sewn it up when Glen Buttriss touched down only to be denied by the video referee for being offside.
Canberra: 22 (J Edwards, R Robinson, S Berrigan, A Milford tries; J Croker 3/4 cons)
St George Illawarra: 18 (J Stockwell, B Harrison, B Morris tries; C Stanley 3/3 cons)
AAP/ABC
Topics: nrl, rugby-league, sport, robina-4226, wollongong-2500, redfern-2016, canberra-2600
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