Prodigal son Mark Gasnier admitted he is still well short of full fitness despite proving St George Illawarra's hero as the Dragons scored a come-from-behind 16-13 victory over South Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
The Rabbitohs trailed 4-12 midway through the second half and looked headed for defeat before Gasnier came to the rescue.
Playing just his second game back in the NRL after a 20-month stint in French rugby union, Gasnier put the Dragons back in the hunt when he sent winger Jason Nightingale over in the 51st minute.
Gasnier then sprinted 30 metres to score the winning try nine minutes from the finish when Nightingale returned the favour with a break down the right flank.
"I managed to scramble over the line but I am still struggling with my fitness," Gasnier said.
"I am getting better each game and having the bye last week helped. I am three or four kilos lighter than two years ago and am trying to put on weight and get fitter."
Dragons coach Wayne Bennett praised his team's defence, particularly in the first half, when Souths dominated the opening exchanges but only went to the break ahead 6-4.
"I think that's where we won it (defending in the first half). That was crucial," Bennett said.
"It kept us in the game, gave us a bit of confidence."
"We came in at half-time knowing we'd been outplayed pretty well but we were still in there and knew we would be better in second half."
For the second straight week, key decisions from the officials went against the luckless Rabbitohs in a tight struggle.
"It's very disappointing … I thought we got some really rough calls," Souths coach John Lang said.
"I've said nothing all year about the refs, but I thought we got some really rough calls tonight."
The win gets the Dragons back on track after a shock loss to Penrith two weeks ago and the bye last weekend.
Souths have now suffered back-to-back narrow losses - both to late tries.