Gerringong junior Ashton Ward is making a strong case for a spot in South Sydney’s Round 1 side after a strong performance in the Charity Shield win over St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old five-eighth, who did well in his six first-grade appearances when he made his debut late last season, came up with a try assist in the 28-24 victory over the Dragons.

There is a vacancy in the halves for the Rabbitohs in the opening round with Jamie Humphreys out suspended so coach Wayne Bennett may use Ward alongside Cody Walker for the clash with the Dolphins in Brisbane on 8 March.

Ward was thrilled to play his part in the triumph with Souths fielding an inexperienced side against what was virtually a full-strength Dragons line-up.

“It was unreal, it was good to get back out there with the boots back on. It’s been a long pre-season so it was good to get a bit of footy under the belt,” he said.

“Especially for something like the Charity Shield it’s always good to get one up on the Dragons.

“We were completing well, kicking to the corners, not try and complicate things too much - that’s what we did and it got us the win.”

Ward also scored bragging rights over fellow Gerringong products Hamish Stewart and Hayden Buchanan, who turned out for the Dragons.

Stewart peeled off 37 tackles to be the equal leader in that category for the home side with prop Emre Guler while Buchanan made a couple of tackle breaks in racking up 56 metres from just three runs after he also entered the fray from the bench.

They will both be in contention for the squad that travels to Las Vegas at the end of this week to take on Canterbury at Allegiant Stadium next Sunday.

St George Illawarra have now wrapped up their pre-season campaign while South Sydney will take on Manly at Glen Willow Oval in Mudgee this Sunday.