Canterbury put up a valiant fight but couldn’t disrupt a four-game NRL losing streak as they fell to South Sydney 26-10 on Sunday night.
Down just two points at halftime, the Bulldogs remained in the battle but could not overcome a Rabbitohs side that showed more polish at Bankwest Stadium.
It took just four minutes for Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston to make one of his trademark blitzes down the sideline, scoring after a 60-metre dash from a Latrell Mitchell pass.
Dean Pay’s men have lacked polish in 2020 but they haven’t been short on bravery.
Souths went into the sheds up by just a penalty as the Bulldogs refused to roll over – Marcelo Montoya scoring a clever try in the 36th minute.
There were danger signs when Souths started the second half with a quick try – but they switched off again and let the Dogs back into the fight.
After Jaydn Su’a collected a grubber from Adam Reynolds for Souths’ second try in the 42nd minute, the Dogs marched up the field and Raymond Faitala-Mariner returned serve.
They were back within four points but not for long as fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak coughed up possession in Bulldogs territory and Cody Walker scored in the next set.
A burrowing try to Walker from close to the line with 20 minutes to go put the result to bed.
Dane Gagai’s runaway try in the final minute was a cherry on top of the win and his 50th in the NRL.
Late in the game there were concerns of a dislocated knee for Souths winger Braidon Burns who was bent over awkwardly trying to score and was taken from the field by a medicab.
In his return to the starting side James Roberts looked hungry to score and chased through several kicks in goal, but couldn’t get the four-pointer he craved before he was spelled in the 55th minute.
He coughed up possession late when he was penalised for a strip and was also robbed of a try-assist as Gagai was put into touch by Nick Meaney who did a wonderful defensive job on the Queensland winger all night.
The Bulldogs will now face a Brisbane side desperate for a win at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, while South Sydney will take on Wests Tigers on Friday night.