Heartbreak for Dragons as Rabbitohs snatch late win

In a week where the Dragons, in particular coach Paul McGregor, were engulfed in a firestorm of criticism the Dragons luck looked, finally, to have turned.

Not one but three clutch conversions from Gareth Widdop and a match-turning charge down and chase from Cam McInnes saw the Dragons clinging to a two-point lead with less than a minute left in Friday's clash with South Sydney.

It ultimately wouldn't prove enough, with Campbell Graham crossing with barely seconds left on the clock to snatch the game and resign the Dragons to heart-breaking 20-16 defeat.

It was the final play in a truly incredible game of football, after the Dragons came back from 12-points down to lead on the back of a penalty goal Widdop landed from 30 metres out and just a metre in from touch.

It came after debutant Jason Saab grabbed a double in the space of nine minutes, the second after McInnes charged down an attempted field-goal from Adam Reynolds and somehow out-sprinted Cody Walker and Braidon Burns on a 50-metre dash to the loose ball.

Widdop nailed the conversion from the sideline to level-up at 14-all, having done so from the same blade of grass nine minutes earlier to cut the margin back to six.

Widdop's strong return came in stark contrast to halves partner Ben Hunt, who endured a forgettable 20 minutes to open the second stanza.

A week after being controversially rested from last week's loss to Penrith, Hunt spilled the ball cold in his side's first set of the second stanza, opening the door for Cody Walker to cross three plays later.

He went close to atoning at the other end but was pinged for a double-movement but it was the moment that followed five minutes later that really summed up his night.

Looking to catch the Rabbitohs out Hunt's attempted short dropout bizarrely deflected off the legs of Paul Vaughan who was attempting to leap back onside to avoid being penalised.

The result was a dropout that barely traveled a metre forward and a penalty to the Rabbitohs, with Dane Gagai crossing for his second try a set later.

It gave the hosts a 14-2 lead that appeared unassailable before McInnes' effort play turned the match and set up the grandstand finish.

It was certainly an improvement on thrashings in their previous two outings against Canberra and Penrith but ultimately results in their 10^th loss in their last 12 games.

McGregor admitted it was a tough one to swallow.

"That's a bit of a kick in the teeth that result when we worked so hard to get into a position to be in front with a minute to go," McGregor said.

"We spoke through the week about our effort and our commitment to one another. That was certainly there, our execution needed to be a bit cleaner.

"We put ourselves under a bit of pressure there and we didn't have a lot of footy there for long periods of time. They had nine more sets than us, we had to make a hundred-plus more tackles.

"We received that one penalty to put us in front and that was the only one we got from the 16^th minute so we had nothing except what we worked for.

"We got ourselves back from a 14-2 deficit which was good, into a winning position. Catch the ball, make the tackle, we win the game.

"We knew they'd kick off short, we loaded up that left edge, we didn't come up with the catch so we needed to defend the set and we just didn't. It's tough but that's footy."

It ended a week in which the drums were beating for the coach amid a slump that's now seen his side win just two of their last 12 games to sit languishing in 14^th spot on the ladder.

They'll host Parramatta at Kogarah next Sunday but walking into their spiritual home could feel like a trip into the lion's den, with the red v faithful sure to make their feelings known.

Club CEO Brian Johnston gave qualified support to McGregor this week but the mooted end of season review is looking uglier and uglier with each passing week.

The frenzied second half came after a largely dour first 40 that saw the Rabbitohs lead 6-2 on the back of Gagai's 30^th minute four-pointer.

It was a telling blow seven minutes so close to halftime, but no one could've predicted the craziness that followed in the second 40.