The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs faced a 32-24 defeat against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the annual Good Friday match.
In front of 49,813 eager fans, both teams started strong; however, it was Alex Johnston who drew first blood for the Rabbitohs with an impressive 80-metre intercept try.
The Bulldogs quickly responded, as Enari Tuala and Marcelo Montoya combined brilliantly, allowing Montoya to power through for a try at the corner.
A linebreak by Tallis Duncan set up another scoring opportunity for Souths, with Latrell Mitchell capitalizing on a Cody Walker chip-kick.
Though Mitchell missed the conversion, he extended their lead with a penalty goal shortly after.
Lachlan Galvin brought the Bulldogs back to parity, scoring off his own grubber, with Captain Stephen Crichton successfully converting.
A penalty goal for an offside infringement put the Bulldogs ahead 14-12, followed by another try to finish the half at 18-12.
The Bulldogs faced challenges in the second half when Crichton left the field with a shoulder injury, necessitating a reshuffle of the team.