Inside the rescue mission for Johnston and his ball

And as big as lifting the drought-breaking 2014 premiership trophy was, Friday night's effort to rescue Alex Johnston's match ball can't have been much easier.

Ever since Johnston's four tries against Melbourne put him within striking distance of Ken Irvine last June, the Rabbitohs and the NRL were preparing for his record-breaking moment.

At almost every match since, venues, opposition teams and operational staff have been briefed in advance.

By the time Johnston scored his 213th NRL try at Allianz Stadium on Friday night, the process was seamless.

Staff were placed in charge of moving ball kids to safety, and Souths' ex-military logistics man Brian Stow led the operation to protect sideline gear.

The NRL took lessons from Lance Franklin's 1000th AFL goal in 2022, when a week-long search for the ball began and Sydney Swans players escaped via public gates.

Souths and Sydney Roosters players were on Friday told to find their nearest exit into the bowels of the stadium if required, with security placed around the underground ring road to lead them back to the sheds.

Sutton's job was arguably the hardest, charged with breaking through the pandemonium of the huddle around Johnston to retrieve the ball.

"As anyone at the club knows, if you wanted that job done, there was no way John wasn't going to do it," Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly quipped.

Sutton reckons he has been at the ground for every one of Johnston's 213 tries, and was briefly caught up in the excitement, before being reminded he had to run on and burrow through.

"There was a little gap and I could see AJ and I could see the ball, so I went in there and put my arms out and was grabbing it," Sutton told AAP.

"And AJ at first didn't know who was grabbing it, so by the time I actually got it off him, I couldn't move. I just stayed in there holding it tightly."

Sutton said he saw the feat hit Johnston when he was lifted up by Cameron Murray and Campbell Graham.

Despite pleas for fans to stay off the field, Friday night could not have worked any better for the NRL.

Had the 31-year-old broken the record at Gosford next week, he could have been trapped between fans, a grandstand and a highway.

No fans have yet been fined for running on at the time of the celebration, but one was charged by police for allegedly assaulting a security guard, and another arrested for an earlier invasion.

All against the Rabbitohs' arch-rivals, on a ground they want to one day call their home again.

"Except for the result of the game, everything went to plan," Solly said. 

Australian Associated Press