The Wallabies have stamped themselves as Tri Nations contenders with a comfortable 30-13 win over the fast-finishing but ill-disciplined Springboks in an action-packed clash in front of 44,284 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
The Springboks fell to their third straight loss of the Tri Nations and although both sides scored two tries, the Australians maintained a comfortable distance thanks to the accurate kicking of Matt Giteau and later James O'Connor.
Worryingly for the South Africans the deficit could have been far greater had the Australians - who barely made a kick in general play - not bombed a myriad of chances with scrappy execution at crucial moments.
For the home side there were strong performers across the park. Genia was at his brilliant best from scrum half while 22-year-old David Pocock was inspirational in his efforts at the break-down and Elsom led from the front with a Herculean effort.
The Boks, who had spent time in both of their Tests against New Zealand with a man in the sin-bin, had to contend with two separate binnings against the Aussies, while flashy Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper also saw yellow for a spear tackle on Morne Steyn.
South Africa's disciplinary woes commenced in the second minute of the match, when Jaque Fourie was controversially shown the yellow by Irish referee George Clancy for a spearing tackle on Wallabies No.8 Richie Brown.
The Aussies were chancing their arm early in a bid to capitalise on their one-man advantage, but while flyhalf Cooper looked dangerous, a couple of pushed passes saw the Wallabies handing over possession.
In a full throttle opening ten minutes, the Australians continued to chance their arms, but with James O'Connor dropping the first bomb of the night and Drew Mitchell and Rob Horne failing to connect on the left flank, it was the Springboks enjoying the best of the field position.
Fourie entered the fray at the 14 minute mark to see Matt Giteau register Australia's first points by kicking a 50m penalty to give his side the first points in the contest.
The Boks relied in kind soon after, but it was the deft passing and hard running of the Wallabies' backs which threatened to break the game open and had the South Africans severely stretched at times.
The desperate Boks had moments of their own, but a string of penalties in defence allowed Giteau to show his kicking woes were behind him and keep the scoreboard ticking with a series of three-pointers.
The Australians looked set to hit the sheds try-less despite a plethora of half chances, until the weight of pressure finally bore fruit and Drew Mitchell made the most of his recall to the Wallabies squad to claim the first five-pointer of the match and send the home side to the break with a 17-3 lead.
After a first half that saw just three kicks from general play, the Wallabies resumed their frantic attack after the break and a string of infringements from South Africa came to a head when BJ Botha became the second Bok to see the bin.
It looked as though the Wallabies would hold the ascendency, but when Cooper was shown the third yellow of the match for a spear tackle on his Springbok opposite, Steyne, the South Africans finally stole momentum.
The Wallabies defended desperately, but the experienced Boks showed their opponents how to