South Sydney have maintained their unbeaten start to the NRL season but needed all of their experience and class to see off a highly-competitive Wests Tigers side 20-6 at ANZ Stadium.

The fortunes of the two sides have run in opposite directions over the past four years with the Tigers not featuring in the finals since 2011 and Souths becoming a NRL powerhouse under Michael Maguire.

But the future looks bright for the Tigers and in Luke Brooks, Mitch Moses and James Tedesco they have three playmakers who should feature prominently for many years to come.

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But for all of their potential the Tigers are a long way from being the finished article.

The same cannot be said of the reigning premiers who even when not at their best, know how to win.

The Tigers started like a house on fire and looked to have scored in the opening minute only for Pat Richards to be denied by the video referee for being in an offside position.

Kevin Naiqama was then halted by a last-ditch tackle from Alex Johnston in the right corner as the Tigers took the game to the premiers.

The Rabbitohs struggled to find their groove in attack with George Burgess grassing the ball on first tackle in front of the Tigers’ posts and a Joel Reddy pass to put Dylan Walker in the clear a metre forward.

Farah opened the scoring to give his side a deserved lead just before the half-hour mark when he regathered his own grubber-kick and dived under a pile of bodies to touch down.

But the Rabbitohs’ response was immediate and predictably it was Greg Inglis who was the architect.

An Adam Reynolds pass found the fullback and his swift ball found Johnston who scored his 24th try in only his 21st appearance.

On the stroke of halftime Reynolds’ perfect kick found the outstretched arm of Walker and the hosts went in to the break leading 10-6.

Seven minutes into the second half Inglis pounced after latching onto a Reynolds pass and ran over Tedesco to score.

A spiteful period threatened to spiral out of control on at least three occasions with Martin Taupau barging into the back of Reynolds off the ball, an act that infuriated the home side.

A series of flashpoints ensued between both teams with Taupau and Isaac Luke at the centre of most of them.

It took until the 75th minute for Walker to add his second try and ice the win, but the centre could face a stint on the sidelines with a suspected broken hand.

Meanwhile, for the second time in as many home NRL games, Gold Coast have suffered late heartbreak, this time losing to Newcastle on Sunday.

Knights veteran Jeremy Smith scored with four minutes to go as the visitors kept their unbeaten status in 2015 with a 20-18 win.

Having lost in the dying seconds of their season opener against Wests Tigers, the defeat was agonising for Gold Coast, who have now lost their first three matches of the season for the first time since their wooden spoon campaign in 2011.

It caps another big week for the Titans, who had State of Origin stars Greg Bird and Dave Taylor as well as Beau Falloon back in the line-up after the club-imposed suspensions on the trio were lifted on Tuesday, amid allegations of cocaine supply.