A committed Bulldogs side put the nightmare of Jarryd Hayne behind them to retain their slim hopes of finals football in 2010.
A week after Hayne and his Eels smashed the hapless Bulldogs, Canterbury bounced back to score an emphatic 32-12 win over Souths at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
With five rounds to play, the Bulldogs could still sneak into the top eight – but they will need to win all their games and have other results go their way.
"We leaked a lot of points last week and we were probably shell-shocked a bit by Jarryd playing some football and us not defending very well," Bulldogs veteran halfback Brett Kimmorley said.
"We spoke about defence for the last seven days, it was important that we got it right tonight."
Kimmorley was a key figure in the Bulldogs' fine win, throwing some clever passes and kicking with plenty of control.
But the long-serving playmaker remains without a club for 2011.
"I'll meet my manager in a few days," Kimmorley said. "I will have to make a decision soon."
While the Bulldogs are back in the hunt, the Rabbitohs' finals campaign is in disarray.
Not only did the Rabbitohs lose their third match of their last four, but star forward Sam Burgess was placed on report and hooker Beau Falloon suffered a suspected broken arm.
The Rabbitohs began the round in eight spot and are now certain to be out of the top eight by the end of the weekend.
Burgess could face time on the sideline after a grapple tackle on Bulldogs youngster Ben Barba.
The Rabbitohs were dreadful in attack, constantly turning over possession in the greasy conditions.
"We tried hard but we just didn't play well," a concerned coach John Lang said.
"It's my job to get them to play so I can't be critical of their efforts or their attitude."
The lone positive for the Rabbitohs was the successful return of star hooker Issac Luke from injury.