All about payback ... Issac Luke celebrates his try. Photograph: Phil Hillyard / The Daily Telegraph

Fuelling Rabbitohs hooker Issac Luke as he broke from that scrum with 56 minutes gone.

First chasing down Knights playmaker Ben Rogers, then driving his shoulder exactly like you'd expect a fella who once tackled goalposts for fun. Thwack.

"Yeah, Benny and I used to live together," Luke said afterwards when asked about the play. "Lived together about a year when he was with the Bunnies and became close mates.

"That's why I was going in hard - Benny had put a shot on me in the first half and I wanted to get him back. I was coming across and he was open so . . ."

This is why the Rabbitohs were singing Glory, Glory last night.

Why coach Jason Taylor was smiling and comeback boy Craig Wing swamped by backslappers, autograph hunters, well-wishers and sports writers.

Because when Luke whacked Rogers with his payback special, he also dislodged the Steeden. Souths getting the scrum, the field position and, within the next set, a Wing try that would begin an afternoon of headlines and an avalanche of 22 points.

"Oh, that was a big play for us, definitely," coach Taylor conceded in a quiet corner of the sheds as, outside, Wing was surrounded by notepads and tape recorders. "Very, very important."

Indeed, Luke's tackle not only broke the Knights' momentum at Gosford, it also ended a Rabbitohs funk that had seen them go 132 minutes without scoring. And just like that, the Bunnies were back.

First Wing scored after 57 minutes. Winger Fetuli Talanoa after 59 minutes and the South Sydney utility again 10 minutes later.

Then, with seven minutes left on the clock, Luke himself ran on to a beautiful ball from lock David Fa'alogo and sprinted 50m to score under the posts. As he clambered to his feet, the Hawera Hawks product then pointed skyward in a stirring tribute to deceased Warrior Sonny Fai.

"That one was for Sonny, yeah," Luke told The Daily Telegraph of his salute. "I was real good friends with him and, like a lot of us Kiwi boys here, won't forget him.

"Everyone who plays in that black jersey, there's a real bond there and I know a lot of the boys are dedicating what they do this year to him. Like I know (utility) Alex Glenn up at the Brisbane Broncos, he's dedicating his whole career to Sonny. He was really respected . . . we miss him."