Bulldogs collect embarrassing records in loss

Canterbury's horrific start to the season has plunged to even greater depths, collecting two unwanted records in their 38-0 thumping at the hands of South Sydney.

The Bulldogs became just the second team in history to be held to no points in three straight games, joining the 2014 Cronulla Sharks in that particular hall of ignominy.

The Bunnies and Dogs have often clashed during the Easter break, but this was easily Souths' biggest win since the fixture became locked into Good Friday in 2012.

Not only was the 38-point margin the biggest on either side of the ledger since that series began, but it was also the Rabbitohs' biggest-ever win over the Bulldogs.

Their previous best margin was more than half a century ago, when they won 51-15 in 1953.

And to add salt to the wounds, their eight points through four games to start the season is the fewest by any team since the Glebe Dirty Reds in 1928.

Lachlan Lewis' return to the team lasted just over five minutes – when an attempted tackle on Josh Mansour resulted in a head knock. Fans and commentators were initially left confused as Lewis stayed on the field, but he was eventually taken off for a head injury assessment, which he failed.

The opening quarter of the match was scoreless until Latrell Mitchell popped up on the right hand side, rather than the left, to put Mansour over for the opening try, before Cody Walker grabbed the team's second ten minutes before the break on the back of some Damien Cook brilliance.

The second half was one-way traffic with the main storyline being whether or not the Bulldogs could score – but the Rabbitohs were defending in the last few minutes as though it was the final exchanges of a grand final, rather than running out the clock in a comfortable win.

"We're obviously very happy, it was a bit of grind there in the first half," Walker said post-match.

"You can see in the second half we sort of ran away with it in the end.. but there's room for improvement."

Confusion as Lachlan Lewis remains on the field following head knock

Walker himself may be in hot water after he appeared to elbow Bulldogs fullback Nick Meaney on the back of the head during a tackle. Second-rower Keaon Koloamatangi may also face scrutiny for a crusher tackle.

Walker praised the performance of Cook, whose long run in the second half gifted Walker his second try and slammed the door shut on any thoughts of a comeback

"He's a pleasure to play with – I've played the majority of my footy with him now and sort of got a great combination. We've had a similar sort of story, we started late in our career, and we can relate to one another in that sense," Walker said about his spine partner.

Cook finished with two linebreaks and two try assists, and topped the tackle count for the Rabbitohs.

"It's always a tough game, Good Friday, it's great to get the win – I think what's most pleasing is how we defended our own goal line," Cook said.

Lively Mansour grabs opening try

"I don't think we were [in second gear] … that first twenty minutes of the game was a real struggle for us."

Adam Reynolds capped off the win with a breakaway try from a chargedown, and had a perfect day with the boot, kicking seven from seven. He was once again asked after the match if there was an update on his contract situation.

"Nah, not yet. It's a slow process but hopefully I'll sit down with the club over the next week or two and get some clarity on where we're at.

"The manager's working hard in the background … but like I said, it's a pretty slow process."

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