South Sydney has retained the Charity Shield for the third straight season after the annual clash against the St George Illawarra ended in a thrilling 26-all draw at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
The Rabbitohs looked on target for a hat-trick of wins in pre-season blockbuster before Dragons winger Brett Morris crashed over in the 80th minute to level things up.
Jamie Soward had the chance to steal victory after the siren but his sideline conversion narrowly missed the uprights to see the sides share the spoils.
A hat-trick of tries to Fetuli Talanoa looked to have set up the victory for the Bunnies before Morris' second try of the night spoiled the party for John Lang's new-look side.
Both outfits looked dangerous throughout in what was a high quality match, scoring five tries apiece in front of an appreciative crowd of 27,221.
Souths halves John Sutton and Chris Sandow played strong hands for the Bunnies while Darius Boyd was everywhere for the Dragons.
The Dragons dominated the early exchanges but were twice denied tries by desperate cover defence from the Bunnies in the opening 10 minutes.
The Rabbitohs were rewarded for their efforts when Colin Best held off two defenders to send Fetuli Talanoa over in the 12th minute, with Sandow adding the extras for the early 6-0 lead.
The Saints levelled things up in the 22nd minute when Boyd spotted space down the short-side and found Jason Nightingale who beat Rhys Wesser with a big left-foot step on his way to the try line.
Souths regained the ascendancy on the half hour when Sandow delivered a deft cross-kick for Talanoa who grounded the ball in spectacular fashion just centimetres inside the touchline.
Sandow put his boot to more good use, slotting the conversion from the sideline for a 12-6 advantage.
But the lead was to be short lived as the Dragons crossed twice in the shadows of half-time to take a 16-12 advantage into the break.
The Bunnies reclaimed the lead five minutes in when a Sutton bust saw Ben Lowe cross for his side's third try of the contest, with Sandow converting from close range for 18-16.
Sutton increased the lead six minutes later when he found Talanoa with a perfectly weighted grubber to bring up the big winger's hat-trick.
The Saints answered in the 54th minute when Nick Emmett crashed over after Sandow rushed out of the defensive line to leave his outside men badly exposed.
But the enigmatic No.7 made amends with 12 minutes remaining when he found Nathan Merritt with a clever cross-kick to set up what appeared to be the match-winning try before Morris' late heroics.
The Dragons headline the opening night of the NRL season on Friday March 12 when they travel to Parramatta Stadium to take on the Eels, while the Rabbitohs face the Roosters at ANZ Stadium in Round 1.
St George Illawarra Dragons 26
Tries: Nightingale 2, Morris 2, Emmett,
Goals: Soward 3,
South Sydney Rabbitohs 26
Tries: Talanoa 3, Lowe, Merritt,
Goals: Sandow 3,
@ ANZ Stadium, 27/02/10. Crowd: 27,22