Lachlan Ilias took his first steps out of Adam Reynolds' shadow but St George Illawarra proved too sharp to break a 10-year Charity Shield drought.
The Dragons beat South Sydney 16-10 in the NRL trial game, relying on some late stifling defence to sneak the win in Mudgee despite scoring four tries to the Rabbitohs' two.
Ilias was confident at halfback for the Rabbitohs as the 2021 grand finalists begin the post-Wayne Bennett era under Jason Demetriou.
But it was the free-wheeling Dragons, headed by flying winger Cody Ramsey and young five-eighth Talatau Amone, who made the biggest statement.
Ramsey somehow stuck out his right hand to plant the ball for the game's first try with the rest of his body hanging well outside the sideline.
His Superman impersonation was just the entree in a highlight-reel first half for the Dragons.
Still catching his breath from his aerial antics, the winger was put into space by fullback Tyrell Sloan to put Jack Bird over.
That try came after an audacious cross-field chip from Ben Hunt found a flying Sloan, who had swapped positions with Ramsey, as the Dragons chanced their arm.
Rookie halfback Ilias then showed why the club thinks he can fill the departed Reynolds' boots, kicking just the second 20-40 in NRL history to get Souths out of trouble.
Jaxson Paulo scored from the ensuing set of six, before the Dragons were at it again.
They peppered the right side this time, Zac Lomax stepping inside two men before a sensational backhand flick pass handed Mikaele Ravalawa a simple try.
Lomax missed all three kicks though, while an unconverted Cody Walker try made it 12-10 to the Dragons at the break.
Mathew Feagai scored the only try of the second half, two others going begging as Amone's footwork kept the Rabbitohs' guessing.
"We'll take a lot of confidence out of that with our defence ... Souths are a a great attacking side and I think we handled them reasonably well," Hunt said of the Dragons' first win in the clash since 2012.
Walker was impressed with his new halves partner and said Demetriou had the side in good shape for a first-round date with Reynold's Brisbane.
"It's going to be scrappy (in pre-season), but overall he played really well," he said of Ilias.
"He (Demetriou) understands what makes different players tick ... which was one of Wayne's greatest strengths."
