Wayne Bennett’s men are suddenly two from two. Shane Flanagan’s mob head into the bye round still searching for a win.

It was not a vintage game, but Souths will be delighted to have banked another two points. Any win they can notch while Latrell Mitchell is on the mend is a bonus.

English recruit Dodd was meant to start the season at halfback, but a suspension and niggling shoulder injury gifted the job to Humphreys. And there is no way Humphreys will lose the No.7 jersey any time soon, especially if Souths continue to win.

Bennett would have been disappointed with how many forward passes his side threw. We counted at least five. But there was no faulting their effort.

Former Rabbits Lachie Ilias and Damien Cook would have loved to have got one over their former club,

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but Ilias struggled to have an impact while dummy half Cook finished the game at centre for the injured Moses Suli.

One positive for the Red V was the return of a bulked-up Tyrell Sloan. Sloan spent last weekend in the NSW Cup, but moved well and finished with a first-try try double. He has clearly spent plenty of hours in the gym over the summer, and looked a lot thicker through the chest. He was a proper handful.

His opposite was debutant Bayleigh Bentley-Hape, the young Kiwi who was cheered on by a huge support crew easy to spot in black while sitting in the blazing sun on the hill.

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