Jai Arrow stunned a crowd into silence as he paid tribute to his former teammate Adam Reynolds following his retirement.
Reynolds has called time on an illustrious career that saw him win two premierships, one with South Sydney and the second with Brisbane Broncos.
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Reynolds now calls Queensland home after being welcome with opened arms by the Broncos, who celebrated his career with an emotional farewell at their annual Paul Morgan Medal presentation.
A group of Broncos players performed the haka in tribute to Reynolds, but some touching words from his friend Arrow sparked even more emotion.
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“I wanted to congratulate you on your career,” Arrow said.
“I’ve spent a lot of good times on the field with you, mate, and many more off the field.
“To you and your beautiful family, I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. I know you’ll be annoying everyone at training.
“You should be really proud of what you’ve done, mate. I can’t wait to catch up with you soon and have a beer.
“Love you, mate.”
Arrow and Reynolds spent just a season playing alongside each other for the Rabbitohs before the latter moved north.
But they share an enduring friendship, with Reynolds describing his mate as a “champion fellow” ahead of the Brisbane vs Souths game this season that celebrated Arrow following his motor neurone disease diagnosis.
“Jai is an old boy, he represented this club. I have a great friendship with Jai and some great memories both on and off the field.
“It’s a super important week, not only for us, not only South Sydney, but the whole game, sport and life in general.
“If we can contribute and make a change in trying to find a cure, it’s more than worth going out there and representing Jai.
“He gets the boys up wherever he is.
“It’s going to be an honour to wear his name and his number on the jersey, as South Sydney will also be representing Jai with a jersey, I believe.”
Originally published as Jai Arrow stuns crowd into silence with touching tribute to former teammate Adam Reynolds