Rabbitohs run through Knights

The Rabbitohs' bid for just their second finals appearance since 1989 continues to gain momentum following a comfortable 34-14 victory over the Newcastle Knights in front of 16,104 fans at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

The Bunnies edge closer to confirming a top-eight spot with every win and their performance in this match suggests they could well finish much higher on the ladder such is their attacking potency.

Souths skipped out to a 22-4 lead following a soft 24th-minute try from hooker Issac Luke, but credit must go to the Knights who fought hard for the remaining minutes of the first half to go into the break still a fighting chance at 22-10 down

The Rabbitohs effectively put the game to bed thanks to tries from interchange forward Nathan Peats in the 54th minute and second-rower Chris McQueen four minutes later, before the outclassed Knights finished off the scoring courtesy of winger Akuila Uate's second try 13 minutes from full-time.

The highlight of the second half came 12 minutes from the end when Souths prop Sam Burgess ironed out young Knights interchange forward Kyle O'Donnell with an incredibly fierce, but legal shoulder charge.

While Souths' stocks continue to rise, the Knights - who were searching for a hat-trick of wins - still find themselves four points shy of eighth position following the loss.

Souths have been terrific starters in 2012 and this was no different, with the silky skills of hulking second-rower Dave Taylor providing centre Dylan Farrell with a pathway to the line to open the scoring in the seventh minute.

Sharp-shooting half-back Adam Reynolds landed the sideline conversion to give Souths a 6-0 lead.

The Bunnies were in again six minutes later when a pinpoint kick from man-of-the-match Reynolds was tapped back by winger Andrew Everingham for the ever-present John Sutton to score.

Newcastle forwards Willie Mason and Joel Edwards were obviously keen to put an end to the Souths' early domination when they combined successfully to jolt the ball free from the clutches of Rabbitohs prop Luke Burgess from the re-start.

This handed the Knights possession for their first try, with Uate crossing in the right corner in the 16th minute.

But normality was soon restored when Reynolds displayed exquisite vision and accuracy to fire a kick in the direction of Everingham, who collected the ball on the full to touch down in the right corner, sending Souths out to a 16-4 lead after 19 minutes.

Souths were proving extremely deadly in attack on the edges, but they were just as effective through the middle as the 24th-minute Luke try demonstrated when he was the beneficiary of some clever short passing from interchange forward Jason Clark and experienced lock Michael Crocker.

Possession started to swing Newcastle's way and they were able to manufacture a badly-needed try three minutes before the break, courtesy of a deft inside ball from five-eighth Jarrod Mullen which sent barnstorming second-rower Chris Houston crashing through a couple of wrong-footed Bunnies defenders.

Half-back Tyrone Roberts converted and the Knights went into the break 12 points down.

Souths pushed out to a 28-10 lead when Peats cruised through a yawning gap in the 53rd minute and Reynolds landed his fourth conversion of the day.

The game was put out of the Knights' reach in the 58th minute thanks to a one-on-one strip in-goal by McQueen on a rattled Uate.

Uate gained redemption, of sorts, 13 minutes from time when he crossed for his second try of the game, but it was all too late for Wayne Bennett's under-performing side.