In their most imposing performance of the year, Mitchell starred for the Rabbitohs at CommBank Stadium while Cameron Murray was again their best in the middle.

The Rabbitohs completely out-muscled Parramatta's big pack, prompting Eels coach Brad Arthur to accuse his side of lacking physicality and being bashed up.

Souths have now won six of their last seven matches since Mitchell's return to the NRL, and sit one win outside of the top four with three rounds to play

But this was as dominant as any performance against another legitimate contender.

"I think it just sends a message to the rest of the competition now," Mitchell said on Nine.

"Look over your shoulders, we're coming. South Sydney."

In a big first half Murray twice put Mitchell through holes in the midfield, while the Souths lock dug into the line and passed in the lead-up to two four-pointers for a 14-0 half-time lead

Alex Johnston also bagged his 24th and 25th tries of 2022 on the night, breaking another record along the way.

He now has 55 tries for the past two seasons, breaking Dave Brown's all-time back-to-back season record of 53 from 1935 and 1936.

And Mitchell was in the thick of it all, breaking the line three times and busting eight tackles while good mate Cody Walker also claimed a double.

The Rabbitohs play an understrength Penrith to begin round 23 on Thursday night, before finishing against North Queensland and the Sydney Roosters.

And while a top-four finish would still rest on the result of other teams, the Rabbitohs threaten to hit the finals in form for a third straight year.

"We've been saying for six weeks that we need to be looking north," Souths coach Jason Demetriou said.

"That has been our mindset and that is where we are going.

"We're looking up and looking forward to the challenges that are coming."

Parramatta also remain in top-four contention in sixth, but Friday night served as another reminder of the large gap between their best and worst football.

Their middle in particular was poor, as Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo made just 88 and 60 metres respectively and didn't bust a tackle,

It showed, as the Eels took more than half-hour to get a play-the-ball in the attacking red-zone.

Parramatta could get Mitch Moses back from a finger injury next week against Canterbury, but he would have made little difference behind their pack on Friday night.

"Right from the start, I thought physically we were well off the pace through the middle," Arthur said.

"We got bashed up, we weren't physical.

"There has to be a real want and desire to put your body on the line and it was obvious that we didn't have it."

When the Eels finally got good ball, they squandered it with an Oregon Kaufusi error from a poor Reed Mahoney pass.

Souths then turned the Eels away at will in the second half, withstanding a 20-minute raid after the break with their line only breached once by a forward pass.

In contrast, the Rabbitohs needed minimal chances to extend their lead.

After repeatedly rebuffing Parramatta, the Rabbitohs went downfield and Mitchell put Johnston over for his second at the first opportunity to seal the match.

Australian Associated Press