RABBITOHS captain Roy Asotasi didn't have the look of a winner when he left the SCG yesterday after the huge victory over the Wests Tigers.

The Kiwi Test front-rower, who was returning from a knee injury, got hurt again. This time it was his shoulder, and he was equally distressed. ''I really don't want to talk about it, to be honest,'' he said.

Asked if he knew how long he might be out, he replied: ''I won't know until I get scans.''

South Sydney director of athletic performance Errol Alcott said the length of Asotasi's absence would depend on whether the injury was restricted to nerve damage or extended to include tendon damage.

''The doc's not sure exactly what he's done,'' Alcott said. '' Nerve damage would be a lot better, maybe three or four weeks. A tendon injury would be lengthy.'' Alcott said a tendon injury would not be season-ending, but obviously any length of time the Rabbitohs have to do without Asotasi would be significantly damaging to them.

''He can't lift his arm,'' he said. ''He just hasn't got the oomph in it, to get it going, at the moment. We'll get the scans done and see what we're dealing with then.''

Rabbitohs coach John Lang was in a much happier mood than his skipper after yesterday's emphatic triumph, particularly impressed by five-eighth John Sutton's display. ''He's been playing quite well but not at his best form,'' Lang said. ''Until the bye, he was second in the competition on the try assists so he's got a tremendous talent.''

Winger Nathan Merritt bagged a hat-trick and centre Beau Champion a double, while Issac Luke booted seven from nine. ''They [Wests Tigers] were pretty bad, to be perfectly honest, they dropped a lot of ball but … [we] put pressure on them to force some of those mistakes,'' Lang said. ''I don't think we can claim full credit.''

with AAP