Luke Keary has extracted the ultimate revenge over South Sydney, helping bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters to a 20-6 win over his former NRL club.
A year after being told he was unwanted at the Rabbitohs, Keary again combined smartly with halves partner Mitchell Pearce and had a hand in two of the Roosters' three tries at ANZ Stadium on Thursday night.
The win led the Chooks to their best start to a season in 21 years and it's the first time they have gone undefeated through the opening four weeks since 1996.
Souths were left to endure the defeat with captain Sam Burgess ruled out for the second half after failing a concussion test.
Burgess stayed down momentarily after his head collided with a rampaging Isaac Liu's shoulder while trying to make a tackle on the opposing middle forward four minutes before half time.
He stayed on the field after being assessed by a Souths trainer at first while defending his tryline but was eventually removed seconds before the siren.
Burgess was the second Bunnies player taken off for a concussion check in the opening half, after centre Siosifa Talakai also brushed aside a trainer before being removed.
Talakai cleared his examination to return for the second half restart.
However Burgess' influence would likely have done little to halt the Roosters' attack.
Pearce and Keary combined for two of the Roosters' three tries, regularly linking to force the Bunnies onto the back foot.
They exposed the Rabbitohs' new-look right-edge in the sixth minute to send centre Latrell Mitchell over the strip and open the scoring.
The pair also paired nicely to effectively wrap the match up in the 57th minute, again bringing Mitchell into the line at speed who found a rejuvenated Daniel Tupou with the left corner open for 20-6 lead.
Fullback Michael Gordon scored the Roosters' other try - and his fourth of the year - when he screamed onto a slick inside ball from rookie Joseph Manu midway through the first half.
By comparison, the Rabbitohs lacked any real cohesion in the opposition red zone despite a mountain of possession there.
They were tackled 48 times in the Roosters 20 but crossed just once through debutant Sitiveni Moceidreke early in the second stanza.
They had three grubbers fielded in the field of play in the first half alone, as they struggled to make the most of their opportunities.
Front-rower Thomas Burgess threw an offload to no-one at a crucial point in the first half, while they fumbled twice on the try-line in the second and handed the ball over once.
Sam Burgess said he almost passed what was his second concussion review in as many weeks.
"I felt alright on the field. The medical staff said ... I should leave the field and I followed their instruction.
"It's there to protect the players. It's disappointing but it's what we have to do now."
Roosters coach Trent Robinson was happy with his halves growing combination, although disappointed with their execution in the finals stages.
"They're the reason we got to the 20 points," he said.
"That was a really fine effort and they're excited about the way they are combining and that leads to four wins with some good points."
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