"Chokers, chokers, chokers."

The vicious taunts of jubilant South Sydney fans on Saturday night is now the question everyone is asking about NRL ladder leaders St George Illawarra after the Rabbitohs annihilated the Dragons 41-6 at ANZ Stadium.

The Rabbitohs were dead and buried for 2009 but they totally dominated the Dragons, sending the title favourites crashing to their heaviest defeat of the year and third in succession to raise serious questions about their premiership credentials.

The Dragons fell apart conceding seven tries as John Sutton, Chris Sandow and Issac Luke ran riot in front of 19,918 fans.

It was the most points the Dragons had leaked all year, but the manner in which Souths cut through their woeful defence will worry master coach Wayne Bennett with his side in a slump on the eve of the finals.

He says if they can't respond in Friday's NRL blockbuster with a red-hot Parramatta side, then their premiership chances will be all but extinct.

"We will know then whether we're in a slump or not," Bennett said.

"If we can't get the best out of ourselves back at Kogarah then we won't be in the playoffs for too long. We will make up a couple of weeks and then it will be the end of our season.

"If Friday night doesn't bring something out of us well then we've got ourselves a problem.

"It's a mental thing and they can turn it around as quickly as they've lost it. It doesn't take a lot of time, if they get their heads around it."

Skipper Ben Hornby labelled the defeat "embarrassing", more so with Rabbitohs fans sledging the Dragons about their history of falling over when the stakes are raised.

"It was embarrassing in the end, that is the best way to sum it up," said Hornby.

"All season we've prided ourselves on defence and tonight it was non-existent."

The Dragons execution in attack was poor, completing just 17 of 32 sets all game with quadruple the errors of South Sydney.

Defence was even worse, as three South Sydney players scored untouched while the other four tries came as defenders simply fell off regulation tackles close to the tryline.

Sutton finished with a double while Colin Best (18th minute), Ben Lowe (29th), Jamie Simpson (57th), Nathan Merritt (59th) and Eddy Pettybourne (71st) all joined in the riot to embarrass the Dragons.

The Dragons' only points came in the 23rd minute when Jamie Soward completed a midfield break by Beau Scott.

They crossed the stripe twice in five minutes earlier in the first half, but winger Brett Morris's left foot slid out and centre Matt Cooper dropped the ball over the line - both the result of committed defence.

Souths coach Jason Taylor said the win was one of his side's best of the year, he only wished it came a week earlier when their finals chances were on the line.

"It's up there with the best of them," said Taylor.

"It would be fair to say the Dragons were off their game."

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