South Sydney coach Michael Maguire still faces a tough choice between starting Robbie Farah or Damien Cook in round one after both starred in the Charity Shield win over St George-Illawarra.
The Rabbitohs ended their pre-season with a decisive 32-10 victory over the Dragons at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, extending their streak in the annual fixture to five games.
And it was the shootout between Farah and Cook that will give Maguire a headache ahead of their mouth-watering round one clash against Farah’s former team Wests Tigers in a fortnight.
Farah impressed in a 40-minute first half stint, kicking astutely and providing good service out of dummy-half, and scoring his first try in Rabbitohs colours in the seventh minute.
But after taking over in the second half, Cook responded with a highlight try assist off the outside of his foot for rookie winger Braidon Burns.
Burns completed a double in similar fashion in the 70th minute, this time off the boot of halfback Adam Reynolds.
In an indication of how Maguire may play his two rakes this year, Farah returned late in the match and played alongside Cook in the middle of the field.
Either way, the hooking tandem is sure to add an extra dimension to a Rabbitohs side that took advantage of a Dragons team that had plenty of looks in attack but little to show for it.
Russell Packer and Nene Macdonald both got on the scoresheet in the first half, however the Dragons rarely threatened after the main break.
Winger Jason Nightingale added a consolation try late.
In a sour note for the Dragons, forward Will Matthews came off midway through the second half with a suspected dislocated hip that could rule him out for an extended period.
The Dragons kick off their season against Penrith at Kogarah on 3 March.