Jai Arrow made an emotional 100th NRL appearance for the South Sydney Rabbitohs to mark his farewell from the sport, following his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis. Special dispensation had been granted by the NRL and Rabbitohs to allow Arrow the opportunity to take to the field for the opening kick-off another two times, with the game against Sydney Roosters marking a century of appearances. Arrow walked his team out onto the field for the Sydney derby, with ‘Stand By Me’ playing before ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ then rang around the Allianz Stadium. The 31-year-old forward had made 178 appearances overall in the NRL before his retirement announcement earlier his year, playing at Brisbane Broncos and then Gold Coast Titans ahead of joining the Rabbitohs in 2021.
Arrow, also having featured 12 times for Queensland in State of Origin, fought back tears as he was presented to the crowd, who all stood in applause, many holding up banners of support in his name. Ahead of kick-off, Arrow waved to the crowd before being embraced by his team-mates and then substituted off, with the Rabbitohs having been allowed an extra player in their squad list and an additional rotation. Rabbitohs head coach Wayne Bennett offered out his arms to Arrow, who was overcome with emotion and could not hold back his tears before sharing an embrace with his wife Berina Colakovic. Arrow then watched on as South Sydney thrashed the Roosters 50-20 in their final match of the regular season, earning confirm a home elimination tie in the NRL finals.
“It was pretty emotional like it was last week,” South Sydney captain Cameron Murray said about Arrow’s reception. “I’m just so happy that everyone’s been able to get around him. “He’s been able to feel all the love, with 42,000 here today and all getting around him. I know he really appreciates it and we love to see it.
We all love him and happy he was able to notch up 100 games.” Watch the conclusion of the NRL and Super League seasons live on Sky Sports. Not got Sky? Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract.
