South Sydney beat St George Illawarra Dragons in NRL Charity Shield

After an off-season where the Jack de Belin rape allegations have taken the focus away from the upcoming season and the NRL this week stood him down indefinitely, the Dragons just wanted to put it to one side and let their footy do the talking. 

But their right-sided defence is causing a whole new wave of headaches for coach Paul McGregor. 

Up by six after Campbell Graham scored on the back of a Dragons error in the opening exchanges, rookie winger Corey Allan made the most of his opportunities to create a 16-6 lead for Souths, now coached by 2010 St George Illawarra premiership coach Wayne Bennett. 

Allan's first two tries, terrorising the Dragons' right hand side, which started with Zac Lomax on the wing and Euan Aitken in the centres, came either side of Lomax's own response when Ben Hunt floated a wide pass to him. 

And by half-time, the Dragons' left-edge had stolen the advantage, as Tim Lafai crossed for a double of his own to make it 18-16 at half-time. 

READ MORE: NRL's leadership in standing down Jack de Belin, Dylan Walker

But St George Illawarra's defensive woes continued after the break, as Cody Walker and Cameron Murray put the Rabbitohs ahead, Allan adding his third in the 50^th minute. 

By that stage, Lomax had moved to the centres and Mikaele Ravalawa, whom the Dragons hope can replace either Jason Nightingale or Nene MacDonald, was on the wing, producing the same defensive result. 

Tariq Sims hit back from some deft passing to make it 32-24.

Bailey Sironen barged his way to the try line with 11 minutes left to cement the Bunnies' victory. 

The Dragons take on North Queensland in Townsville in the season opener on March 16.