Shellshocked St George Illawarra coach Wayne Bennett felt "angry and sick in the stomach" after a second straight capitulation left the Dragons' NRL premiership defence in doubt.

The Dragons blew another big lead in Sunday's 34-24 NRL loss to South Sydney, folding after a 20-0 first half buffer.

The home side was outscored 28-4 in the second half in front 18,980 stunned fans at WIN Stadium, a ground the Rabbitohs had won at just once in their previous 12 visits.

It came just a week after Bennett's side had led 18-6 against struggling Canberra only to be run down 24-19 in the national capital.

"We're all a bit shellshocked," Bennett said.

"It doesn't mean enough to us right now. That's the hard part after you win a premiership ... it's how much you want something.

"We've got no excuses. Individuals in the team probably want it a little more than others but across the team, the last two performances indicate (a lack of hunger)."

"There is a different mindset at the moment."

Bennett said he'd experienced similar situations before, but it wasn't up to him to fix a problem that has seen the Dragons lose five of their past seven games.

"I can't change that," he said. "The reason they've been successful is because of their attitudes.

"The reason you see results like the last two weeks is the reverse of that.

"The only way we can win a game right now is to score right on fulltime and be in front because we'll just find a way to give another opportunity."

Asked if the situation was frustrating, Bennett was scathing: "It's more than frustrating. It makes you angry and sick in the stomach."

But, as he has done before when at the helm of Brisbane, the seven-time premiership winning mentor denied his side was in a slump.

"We're not even on the crest of a slump," he said. "Slumps you don't get to 18, 20 points.

"We're in a comfort zone.

"It's that desire to want to go back and do it all again and do all that hard work and play all that tough footy you've got to play."

Bennett threw down the gauntlet to his side, which slumped to fifth and a position outside the top four for the first time this season.

"I know there's a lot of character amongst these players," he said. "You don't win a premiership without that.

"They've got five weeks to get it right.

"It doesn't matter where these guys finish, these guys are capable.

"That part I don't fear. It's a fact of whether they really want to give themselves a chance again or they're just going to play it out."

Melbourne will take a mortgage on the minor premiership won by the Dragons in the past two seasons by opening up a four-point gap to second placed Manly with a win over Parramatta on Monday night.

The top eight was virtually sealed with Newcastle's 50-20 mauling of Gold Coast on Sunday, the Knights and Wests Tigers now with a four-point buffer to chasers Penrith, Canterbury and Souths.

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