Gerringong Lions five-eighth Ashton Ward tore St George Illawarra Dragons to shreds in South Sydney Rabbitohs' rousing NRL win at Accor Stadium on Thursday night.

Ward was exceptional in the 40-0 flogging of the Dragons, getting the last laugh on centre Hayden Buchanan, another Gerringong junior who recently made it into the NRL.

The 21-year-old playmaker booted six goals from seven attempts and had a hand in South Sydney's attack all night, setting up tries for the outside backs in just his fifth match in first grade.

Andrew Johns, considered the game's greatest halfback of all time, was mightily impressed with Ward's contribution.

“He’s got the foundations to be a 200-game half. He’s tough and he competes," the Knights Immortal said from the Nine commentary box.

The Dragons targeted Ward, who is the smallest player in the NRL, but he got through 31 tackles without missing any and one of his hits jarred the ball free from a Dragons attacker, leading to Souths scoring just before half-time.

They led 16-0 at the interval before scoring four more tries in the second half to join the Dragons in a share of 12th spot on the ladder.

Another Gerringong product, Dragons forward Hamish Stewart missed the match due to a concussion suffered in last week's loss to the Warriors in Auckland.

They had plenty of players out injured but coach Shane Flanagan said they should have performed a lot better against a Rabbitohs side which was also heavily depleted.

"Souths had a shorter turnaround than us, they've got injuries. We're not tossing up any excuses," he said.

"If I start tossing up excuses, then I become one of the weak ones.

"The opposition didn't give us a chance to breathe. They were outstanding with the football. We were the opposite."

St George Illawarra take on Manly at Kogarah next Saturday before finishing the regular season with a showdown against Penrithin Wollongong on 6 September.