Alex Johnston scores 'brave' hat-trick on one leg as battered and bruised Bunnies wreak havoc

South Sydney were already missing star centres Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton leading into Saturday night's clash with the Sharks.

Less than 20 minutes into the game, Euan Aitken and Edward Kosi had left the field for head injury assessments and Alex Johnston was hobbling around with a knee injury.

Yet somehow, the battered and bruised Bunnies walked away from Accor Stadium with a dominant and clinical 36-12 victory over an underwhelming Cronulla outfit.

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Johnston looked gone for all money mid-way through the opening half, but with bodies falling around him and two big guns in Mitchell and Wighton already sidelined, he toughed it out and reaped the rewards with a first-half double.

"You're seeing it here, he's clearly in some discomfort with that right knee heavily strapped," Michael Ennis said on Fox League commentary.

"But without Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton and with a number of injuries to the backline of Souths, the brave Johnston is doing it with ease on one leg."

The game's all-time leading try-scorer completed his hat-trick early in the second half, with the Sharks' ill-discipline a major issue for the visitors.

Wayne Bennett admitted post-game that he considered taking Johnston off, but having debutant Latrell Siegwalt inside him helped the veteran get through.

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"It was a huge effort by him to play on and we value that very much," Bennett said.

"I think he got some confidence out of Latrell at the training sessions as well and realised he had a pretty confident player inside of him.

"I did think about taking him off in the second half, but we had the game under control and I thought I'd just leave him there … earn his money before he goes to PNG."

Cameron Murray was in the wars as well - first bleeding from the side of his head and getting patched up, before copping a swinging arm to the jaw from Tom Hazelton.

The inspirational skipper was taken off for a HIA moments after the shot from Hazelton, who managed to avoid a trip to the sin bin but was placed on report.

"There was no malice in it," Ennis said.

Murray was ruled a category two and passed his assessment in the Souths sheds.

Cronulla had their fair share of opportunities to start mounting a comeback at 24-0 down, but try-saving tackles from the pint-sized duo of Jye Gray and Ashton Ward proved why the Rabbitohs are a different team this season.

But when captain Murray was cleared to return to the field, the State of Origin star put the icing on the cake, crashing over from close range.

"The form of Murray has been stunning and outstanding tonight," Ennis said.

KL Iro and Mawene Hiroti crossed for late consolation tries on a dour night for the Sharks, who lost skipper Blayke Brailey to a head knock in the final 10 minutes.

Campbell Graham scored in his milestone 150th game to cap off a stellar night.