St George Illawarra star fullback Josh Dugan could be in doubt for the NRL season kickoff after hyperextending his knee in the Dragons’ 12-12 draw with South Sydney in Saturday night’s Charity Shield at ANZ stadium.

Dugan was taken from the field early in the second half of the pre-season fixture after rolling his ankle while fielding a Rabbitohs’ grubber in front of his own posts.

It was a case of deja vu for the NSW representative after he missed the opening four rounds of the 2014 season after injuring his knee in the same game.

He went up the tunnel and did not return to the bench during the second half.

Dugan will likely have scans to determine if he will travel with the side for the World Club Challenge next week in England.

The Rabbitohs announced just before kickoff they would rest stars Adam Reynolds, George Burgess and Glenn Stewart and both sides looked short of a full gallop in what was their first hitout of the season.

The Dragons were rusty in the opening 20 minutes, venturing into the Rabbitohs’ 20m zone on a number of occasions but turned over possession cheaply.

Benji Marshall took it on himself to do it all, taking the ball from the scrum and then running through a weak Luke Keary attempted tackle to open the scoring.

The Rabbitohs had a chance to score in the shadows of halftime but Tom Hughes dropped it over the line as the Dragons went into the sheds up 6-0.

The Dragons went further in front six minutes after the break when Eto Nabuli climbed high to take a Marshall bomb and danced with the corner post to basketball-pass the ball to Charly Runciman to score.

Former Fijian porter Nabuli, after starting on the bench, was a standout, looking confident under the high ball and pulling off a try-saving tackle on Joel Reddy.

The Rabbitohs reduced their deficit to 12-6 when rookie Sam Manuleleua scooped up a loose ball and ran 80 metres, however there were doubts about whether a Dragons player was pulled down in the lead-up.

They evened it up when Chris Grevsmuhl barged over with four minutes left on the clock and surged late but could not break the deadlock.

Dragons second-rower Will Matthews also suffered a hand injury in the first half.