Adam Reynolds' magic boot gives NRL its dream preliminary final

The NRL have their September wish with South Sydney soldiering on to face bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters in a blockbuster preliminary final next Saturday courtesy of Adam Reynolds' magical right boot.

In yet another thrilling finals' clash, the little Souths halfback slotted three field goals, in the 70th minute, 78th minute and with 20 seconds on the clock, to nail down the 13-12 win over St George Illawarra.

Sharp-shooter: Adam Reynolds celebrates kicking the winning field goal with 20 seconds on the clock.Credit: AAP

The Dragons gave their all and thought they had the match won with four minutes remaining.

Teen rookie centre Zac Lomax blocked out the deafening noise from the 48,118 fans to boot a penalty goal.

The Red V were not expected to advance past week one of the finals. Coach Paul McGregor will wake up Sunday morning knowing his side could have easily been preparing for the Roosters.

Souths endured an awful 48-hour lead-up to the game because of a much-publicised sexting scandal. Rather than making news on the back pages the club found itself splashed all over the front pages.

But you would not have guessed this was a team put off their game as they celebrated wildly around Reynolds after his right-footed winner.

The inked playmaker racked up all 13 points.

"It was a strange old night, I never thought about kicking three field goals in a game,'' Reynolds told Fairfax Media.

"There was a lot of emotion out there. I love these boys. They mean a lot to me and they're like my family. I'm thankful we get to go again next week.''

Souths coach Anthony Seibold was full of praise for Reynolds and Cam Murray, who came up with a crucial tackle to give Souths the chance to level the scores late.

Hard yards: Tom Burgess is tackled by Leeson Ah Mau and Tyson Frizell.Credit: AAP

"It was a game-changer,'' Seibold said.

"Cam has been outstanding the last three weeks and anyone who has watched his development the last couple of seasons will have seen him develop into the forward he is.

"[As for Reynolds] he was 'on' tonight and scored all our points. He was very composed.

"He works hard on his craft, he's a bit of a joker and is always annoying the coaches and players, but I felt great for him.''

Souths will take plenty of confidence into next Saturday's derby, which will be a sellout and what will double as the final game at Allianz Stadium.

Seibold started the mind games by declaring the pressure was on the Bondi boys.

"It's a big game, and it will be a great challenge for us as a group,'' Seibold said.

"They would have had a good rest this weekend I'd imagine, and we're really keen to put some pressure on them. They're the minor premiers, they may have been in four of the last six preliminary finals, so there's a fair bit of pressure on them. We'll go there and give it a red-hot crack.''

Straight through: Ben Hunt evades a tackle by John Sutton to score.Credit: AAP

Five weeks ago the Bunnies knocked over Melbourne and were premiership favourites.

Last week, again against Melbourne, they were just six minutes away from advancing straight through to the preliminary final, only to lose.

For a large chunk of Saturday night Souths looked flat. They became frustrated.

Dragons No. 7 Ben Hunt broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time when he skipped on the outside of John Sutton to score a deserved try.

The Dragons were the underdogs but taking the fight to Souths.

A minute after the break they lost their danger man Tariq Sims to a knee injury.

And just like that Souths hit back with a try to Reynolds, then another Reynolds penalty goal to level the scores.

The red and white flags waving around the Sydney Olympic Park venue were replaced by the red and green variety.

When Hunt botched his own field-goal attempt, Reynolds made no mistake a minute later at the other end of the field.

That's entertainment: Russell Crowe watches his beloved Rabbitohs chalk up another finals win. Credit: AAP

The Dragons looked set to be dudded by a dud rule where players could be penalised for deliberately throwing a pass into a player laying around the ruck.

Cam McInnes did just that into Cam Murray and was pinged. Referee Gerard Sutton told him the rules had been changed midway through the season. McInnes and the Dragons must have missed the memo.

Trust only the game of rugby league to change rules midway through a season.

Big loss: Tariq Sims sits on the bench after injuring his knee.Credit: AAP

The Roosters and Souths have staged some of the most epic battles over the years. Souths got the cash in the preliminary final in 2014 before they went on to triumph in the grand final.

Greg Inglis was penalised for a crusher tackle on Tim Lafai. But unlike Roosters centre Latrell Mitchell from a week earlier, the Souths skipper has no carryover points, meaning a suspension was unlikely.

Inglis said it was up to the match review committee to review it, and ''there's nothing I can do about it''.

George and Tom Burgess clashed heads inside the opening two minutes, which forced the twin with longer hair from the field for treatment.