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NRL live: Jai Arrow’s 100th Rabbitohs game against Roosters
Posted Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:15pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:15pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:15pmSkip to timeline
Jai Arrow walks out with the Rabbitohs for the 100th time against rivals the Roosters at a sold out Sydney Football Stadium.
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Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:45pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:45pm
Support for Jai Arrow
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By Simon Smale
Loading Twitter contentFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:41pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:41pm
Roosters-Rabbitohs rivalry pales into background, at least for the first minute
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By Simon Smale
“Over the weekend, even since the announcement of Jai’s condition, we’ve seen that some things are bigger than football,” Roosters utility Connor Watson told NRL.com ahead of tonight’s match.
“He’s obviously going to play his 100th game for the Rabbitohs on Friday so we’ll be there to celebrate with him.”
Naufahu Whyte agreed.
“There’s a lot of things in the game of rugby league we can’t change,” the Roosters prop said.
“I send my full love and respect out to Jai and his family and what he’s done for the game.
“It’s a privilege to be in that moment with him as he represents his 100th game.
“I know all us Roosters brothers support him.”
That might be true.
But the 118-year rivalry between Souths and Easts will still bubble under the surface and, once the ceremony of Jai Arrow’s walk on is over, the rivalry will once more come to the fore.
“It’s all a mindset,” Whyte said.
“One moment you can be in a situation and another moment you can flick that switch in your head and go into battle.
“We’ll celebrate that moment with Jai — he deserves it — and then we’ll cross those white lines and get ready for the match.”
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:39pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:39pm
Well said
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By Simon Smale
Good news stories are scarce- and while Jai’s diagnosis with MND is not- walking out for his 100th makes us believe in humanity
– Mike Taylor
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:37pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:37pm
Listen: Jai Arrow’s 99th walk out
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By Simon Smale
While the effects of Motor Neuron Disease continue to take their toll on Jai Arrow’s body, the 31-year-old continues to show enormous courage alongside his Bunnies team-mates and the Gold Coast Titans as he walked out for kick off to “You Never Walk Alone” last week.
At the conclusion captain Cameron Murray spoke to ABC Sport’s Zane Bojack about subbing-in for Jai.
Listen to the entire emotional moment right here.
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:36pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:36pm
Jai Arrow 100 t-shirt
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By Simon Smale
Fans in Sydney tonight may be fortunate to get their hands on a limited edition Jai Arrow 100 game t-shirt.
We’re not allowed to advertise things on the ABC, but all funds are going to the Arrow family and the ongoing treatment options as he negotiates his future with MND, so I’ll cop the rap on the wrist if I get told off.
You can only get one in store at the stadium though – so if you’re at Moore Park, get your wallet out.
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:32pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:32pm
Minor scheduling issue
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By Simon Smale
Thought you’d forgotten us Simon . No Titans/Dolphins blog ?
– Phillip
I’d never forget you all, Phillip.
Unfortunately, we had a minor scheduling conflict today BUT thought the opportunity to give Jai Arrow the full attention of the blog was too good to pass up.
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:25pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:25pm
Walker hailed Arrow effect after Titans victory
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By Simon Smale
Rabbitohs players say Jai Arrow has proven to be an inspiration for South Sydney as the club prepares to play finals for the first time in four seasons.
The 42-22 win over Gold Coast in Robina on Saturday took the Rabbitohs to sixth and into the finals for the first time since 2022.
Arrow, 31, led the side out as captain in an emotional start to the match where he notched his 99th NRL game for the Rabbitohs after the NRL gave permission for him to be subbed off straight away.
Cameron Murray, the regular skipper, ran on as Arrow came off to appreciative applause.
Murray scored two tries and set up two in an opening 27-minute burst to secure a 28-0 lead.
Five-eighth Cody Walker revealed the depth of the emotions that the players have dealt with this year after Arrow’s diagnosis.
Only those inside the Rabbitohs’ four walls can know what that has truly been like, but the performance against the Titans epitomised the Arrow mentality and ethos.
“It’s sort of not a great thing to say but it is a sad thing we have gotten used to … everything that has gone on this year with Jai’s diagnosis” Walker told AAP.
“I shouldn’t say ‘got used to’ but we have sort of learned to live with it, if that makes sense, without treating him differently because he doesn’t deserve that.
“For us it is about showing some of the strengths that Jai brought to a footy team and the club.
“I thought that through the real tough periods against the Titans we showed a little bit of that. We were on the ropes there and they were coming home with a wet sail and it was just a bit of hard work that got us out of trouble.”
Walker, a deep thinker about life and the game itself, said the positives from the day were a two-way street.
“One thing for me on a personal level that I hope Jai got out of today was not just how much he means to our club, but for the wider community,” Walker said.
“That includes the whole of Australia and I am sure he is getting support world-wide as well, which is outstanding
“It is a real credit to his demeanour, a real credit to his character and a real credit to the way he lives his life. I hope he just felt the love today.”
– AAP
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:22pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:22pm
Murray fights for Arrow
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By Simon Smale
Cam Murray said the Rabbitohs used the energy from Jai Arrow’s walk out to propel the side into the finals with their 42-22 win over Gold Coast last weekend.
The Rabbitohs skipper said the team wanted to set the match up in the opening and credited Arrow for his own adherence to the plan.
“We were able to execute it and obviously there was heightened emotion around Jai,” Murray said.
“We spoke about him at the start of the game and what he does and what he did for us every time he ran out on the field.
“We channelled that energy in the right way, started really well and it set the game up for us.”
With AAP
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:18pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:18pm
The emotions of Robina
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By Simon Smale
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As tears were shed and the speakers blared at Robina last weekend, Jai Arrow leaned over and told his mate Cody Walker something quite surprising.
“I can’t repeat exactly what I said to him, but I noticed before the game he was really nervous,” Walker told Nine.
“I asked him how he was feeling, and he said ‘I’m nervous, I’ve never been nervous before a game in my life’.
“When he gets anxious, he sort of stiffens up a little bit.
“I told him if you feel like you’re gonna stiffen up, just hold me or grab me — and he goes ‘I just need you to spray me, say whatever’ and I’m good at that, we’ve got that relationship, so I was behind him just giving it to him.
“He had a cackle, which was what he needed in that moment, someone to create a bit of normality and let him know that everything is all right.”
Emotions will no doubt run just as high again tonight.
Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:09pmFri 4 Sep 2026 at 7:09pm
Welcome to a historic night in the NRL
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By Simon Smale
Hello everyone and welcome to tonight’s special NRL blog.
My name is Simon Smale and I will be with you this evening for a historic event, as Jai Arrow runs on for the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 100th time, and second since his whole world was upended by his diagnosis of MND earlier this year.
The NRL has made a special dispensation for him to be able to make these last two appearances to bring him up to 100, and full credit to them for that.
Tonight, for what is surely the first time in his career, Arrow will line up at five-eighth, but will be replaced by Cody Walker immediately following kick off.
It is sure to be an emotional night at a sold out Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park.
I’m glad you’re here with me to experience it.