Alex Johnston scored a hat-trick as South Sydney Rabbitohs overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat St George-Illawarra Dragons 32-24 in Thursday's NRL clash.

The Rabbitohs were 16-0 down when Matthew Dufty ran in his second try of the game after 16 minutes either side of Euan Aitken's score at the Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, but Wayne Bennett's side came back in style.

Four unanswered tries from Cody Walker, Johnston and Latrell Mitchell levelled the scores by half-time.

Johnston's second score continued the Rabbitohs' momentum after the restart, though Tyson Frizell latched onto a grubber to restore parity with 25 minutes remaining.

Yet the Rabbitohs had the bit between their teeth – Walker helping himself to a second before Johnston raced over to complete his hat-trick after intercepting Tristan Sailor's sloppy pass.

Mikaele Ravalawa snatched a late consolation for the Dragons, but the visitors ultimately won with ease as they moved into the top eight.

Rabbitohs Revival #NRLDragonsSouths pic.twitter.com/iZkJVdZnKU

— NRL (@NRL) July 30, 2020