They showed all the composure of a big-time team to join the Sea Eagles at the top of the NRL ladder on Thursday night, but Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire insists his team hasn't achieved anything yet.
South Sydney pulled the carpet from beneath the Bulldogs' feet by producing the clutch plays at the death, turning a two-point deficit into a seven-point win with a Lote Tuqiri match-winner in the 73rd.
But despite his side's late-game heroics on the big stage – a Thursday night blockbuster against a side with a two-time premiership-winning coach – Maguire still concedes there is more progression to be made for his in-form team.
"That's up to us, really. I mean, one thing at the moment, we haven't done anything yet," he said after the win over Canterbury.
"We're performing and we've got to keep growing as a team, but we're well aware that we're going to be playing against a very good team in a week's time. And that's going to be our focus because that's what's in front of us now."
A final round local derby against long-time rivals the Roosters is all that remains for the joint competition front-runners before the real season kicks in.
The Rabbitohs remain premiership favourites after chalking up their sixth win in seven games, but skipper Greg Inglis says their senior group is shunning all talk of their premiership chances.
"To be totally honest, we've got a good bunch of leadership group in our club and we put all that aside. That's in the background where we can't control," Inglis said.
"But what we can control is what we believe in and what we do each and every week. So that's all put aside. Our focus is the Roosters now. We can't control what's been said in the papers, we can only control what we do."
The cardinal-and-myrtle looked decidedly off-colour in the first half, failing to find any kind of flow with the ball after coming up with a number of unforced errors.
But Maguire said he was proud of his team for recalibrating their attack during the main break and sticking it out until the end.
"It was scrappy. We probably weren't as controlled in the first half as we would've liked. Bit of dropped ball there," he said.
"But the fact the boys stuck at it, we came in at half-time and had a good talk about what was required and they went out and did that the second half. We built pressure that we were talking about."
The win temporarily moves the Rabbitohs above Manly to top of the NRL ladder, although the Sea Eagles have yet to play this weekend.
Should Manly lose to Penrith on Sunday, a win for South Sydney over the Roosters next week will clinch their first minor premiership in 25 years.
