The Rabbitohs absorbed a furious fight back from the Raiders, who got to within two points after trailing 24-12 on the hour.

But with just five minutes left, mercurial five eighth Owen Craigie set up a brilliant chip and chase try for man of the match Blaine Stanley to give Souths the deserved win.

Souths win was all the more important considering that 12 members of their senior squad were out of the match with injury.

The Raiders got an opportunity with their first set of six after Souths prop Paul Stringer was penalised for interfering, but unfortunately were unable to get four points for some strong attacking work.

Canberra star Jason Croker, playing in the centres, crashed through the tackle of Jason Death and over the try line, but in doing so knocked the ball on.

The early reprieve helped Souths mount pressure on the Riders with blue collar attack through the middle of the ruck, replacement Duncan MacGillivray in particular relishing the hard work.

In the eighth minute, newly installed halfback Blaine Stanley roosted a bomb into the Raiders defence, Russell Richardson was able to steal the ball from an opponent and fling a desperate pass to Wade McKinnon.

The Souths fullback fought his way over the line and scored the opening try of the match, which was converted by winger Scott McLean.

It took Canberra less than two minutes to equalise after a clever kick from captain Simon Woolford. From dummy half, Woolford caught McKinnon napping and his long ball enabled speedy five eighth Mark McLinden to outpace the Souths rookie and get himself his first four pointer of the season.

Souths though were clearly improved from last week’s thrashing by the Roosters, and re-assumed the lead in the 16th minute: a careless pass from Canberra prop Ryan O’Hara was scooped up by Owen Craigie, who was quick enough to get to the try line and cross under the uprights. McLean’s simple extras gave the Rabbitohs the early 12-6 lead.

Another strength for Souths in comparison to round one was the kicking game of Stanley, who was instrumental in gaining Rabbitohs good field position with a solid long kicking game.

Canberra on the other hand were too impatient to throw the big pass or get forward in defence, their ill-disciplined play limited the Raiders ability to conquer the Souths try line.

With two minutes left before the break, Souths took the advantage with a brilliant backline try started by McKinnon.

He carted the ball up from his own twenty metre line and busted a wide gap down the right hand side of the Raiders, handling twice in a nice movement with Richardson, then throwing the well-timed last pass to winger Brent Grose.

The brilliantly orchestrated try, converted by McLean gave Souths an 18-12 half time lead.

Souths picked up where they left off in the second half, another glaring handling error from O’Hara gifting the Rabbitohs a free attacking opportunity in the Raiders twenty.

This time Stringer was the man on the spot, bustling over in a well-run set play that helped McLean to get two more points and open up a handy twelve point South Sydney lead.

Once again Canberra pressed too quickly when opportunities presented themselves, and they were unable to consistently test Souths defensive line with just forty percent of the game’s possession.

When they did get to spend a large portion of time inside the Rabbitohs half, Canberra were met by a strong Souths defence that forced the home side into committing penalties through frustration.

Tempers overflowed on the hour, Ruben Wiki and Paul McNicholas getting into the season’s first fisticuffs. When the smoke cleared the Raiders were back in the match at 24-16, Croker finally making amends for his earlier knock-on with a try in the corner.

Soon after, the Raiders closed to within two points behind the brilliant fullback Schifcofske. He returned another fine bomb by Stanley more than ninety metres, eluding practically the entire Souths side in scoring the solo try.

He added his own extras, cutting the Rabbitohs lead to just two points with 15 minutes remaining.

The pressure was telling on Souths, who were fading fast at the furious onslaught from Canberra, but were still committed to no-frills football.

With five minutes left on the clock though, Craigie stepped up for Souths and laid on the brilliant try for man of the match Stanley.