Alex Johnston needs three tries in one game to break the NRL’s try-scoring record before the end of the season after edging closer to the history books in South Sydney’s 40-0 thrashing of St George Illawarra.

The left winger had one try in Souths’ penultimate game of a forgettable year, touching down from a very suspect Tallis Duncan pass in front of 7213 fans on Thursday night.

It was the Souths’ smallest crowd at Accor Stadium since Round 1, 2020 — not including games that had COVID-19 restrictions.

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Johnston’s 210th career try came in the final minutes before half-time and leaves the veteran only two four-pointers shy of equalling Ken Irvine’s mark that has stood since 1973.

With Souths on the bye next week, the stage is set for Johnston to take a shot at history against his side’s most bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters in the last round of the regular season.

The win finished as Souths’ biggest of the year, and also their biggest over the Dragons either as a joint venture or as their predecessor club St George.

Johnston could’ve come even closer to rarefied air amid the carnage.

The winger tore past Hayden Buchanan and Corey Allan down the left in the first half but passed inside to Jye Gray for the Rabbitohs’ second try.

After the break, Duncan had Johnston unmarked on his left but did not need the veteran as he crashed past Buchanan for a four-score lead.

From there, it was Johnston’s teammates inflicting the pain, with right winger Tyrone Munro putting the icing on the cake by stepping around Clint Gutherson en route to an 85m try in the final minutes.

The victory guarantees Souths cannot finish last bottom of the ladder, after last week’s win had all but confirmed Wayne Bennett would avoid the first wooden spoon of his premiership career.

The Dragons had already been relying on a miracle to play finals but are now mathematically out of contention, left to rue errors and an inability to create opportunities against Souths.