South Sydney put weeks of bitter in-fighting on hold to record a come-from-behind 14-12 win over St George Illawarra in the Charity Shield clash at Telstra Stadium.

Down 12-0 at the break the Rabbitohs scored three unanswered tries after the break to record their tenth win in the 23-year history of the annual NRL season curtain raiser, the Bunnies securing back-to-back Charity Shield wins for the first time since 1989.

The first half was the Trent Barrett show as the Dragons skipper scored one try and set up another with a beautifully weighted kick to give the red-and-whites a 12-0 lead at the break.

Barrett, who is yet to make a decision on his future beyond this season with interest from several English clubs, ran onto a short ball close to the Bunnies' line to go over himself in the 14th minute.

Seven minutes later he put a chip kick on the chest of fullback Ben Hornby, who showed good hands to catch the ball and dive over the line in the one movement.

But with Barrett rested for the entire second half, the Bunnies worked their way back into the game, with the 24,566 crowd urging them on with every run.

Their faithful were finally rewarded when Paul Mellor, on his return to Souths after stints with Cronulla and in England, pounced on a Ben Walker grubber to make it 12-4.

A slick backline movement produced a second nine minutes later for Shannon Hegarty, and when Walker converted David Fa'alogo's 59th try, the Bunnies had taken a deserved lead for the first time.

Young utility back Beau Champion then went from hero to villain in the space of just a minute, with the 19-year-old crossing for what he thought was a try only to find himself put on report by referee Steven Clark for a high shot on Dragons replacement fullback Clint Greenshields in the lead-up.

With most of their stars now sitting on the bench, the Dragons had one last chance to snatch victory in the closing minutes.

But former Rabbitoh Willie Peters, who has joined the Dragons on a short term deal as cover for injured halfback Mathew Head, dropped a pass 20 metres out with the line wide open.

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