South Sydney hooker Damien Cook has come back to haunt Canterbury, bagging a hat-trick of tries in the Rabbitohs' 36-16 Good Friday NRL victory.
Cook scored two tries before the break before completing his treble with less than 15 minutes to go, as the Bulldogs' winless run was extended.
Alex Johnston crossed for a double and debutant Isaiah Tass touched down late for South's other try while stand-in fullback Blake Taaffe converted all six four-pointers in the absence of Latrell Mitchell.
The Rabbitohs' win in front of 30,194 fans at Accor Stadium moved them up to fifth spot on the ladder and condemned Canterbury to a fifth-straight loss under coach Trent Barrett.
Canterbury's attacking woes have been a major talking point in 2022 but they started well when Kyle Flanagan flung a cut-out pass to Brent Naden to touch down for the afternoon's opener.
The Bulldogs had a second try chalked off when Braidon Burns was unable to ground against his former club.
Josh Mansour and Johnston both had tries ruled out either side of a sin-bin for Bulldogs hooker Jeremy Marshall-King, for repeated ruck infringements.
With the No.9 in the bin, opposite number Cook burrowed over from close range to score Souths' first of the afternoon and spark them into life.
A smart run by Campbell Graham on the ensuing set cut Canterbury apart and Cook was backing up on the inside to notch a second before Johnston crossed a few minutes later.
Young Canterbury forward Chris Patolo's afternoon was over when he clashed heads with skipper Josh Jackson while bringing down Cameron Murray, while Burns pulled up with a hamstring problem.
The pain didn't stop there for the Bulldogs when, in a snapshot of their attacking woes, Tevita Pangai Jr threw the ball into touch on a blindside play on the stroke of halftime.
Burns' exit forced Matt Burton, Canterbury's highest-profile recruit, out of five-eighth and into the centres.
The floodgates should have opened with Canterbury in a state of chaos but Souths were held to just one try through Johnston in response just after the break.
The last 15 minutes opened up with both sides trading tries.
Cook snared his treble and Tass scored on debut, with Josh Addo-Carr grabbing his first Bulldogs try and Marshall-King helping to soften the scoreboard for Canterbury.
