Beautiful tributes from Jai Arrow to Wayne Bennett, Rabbitohs teammates, and most of all wife Berina and daughter Ayla were delivered in a remarkable message from the former NRL prop at a gala dinner in his honour.
After Arrow was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, rugby league has rallied around him The star-studded gala event at The Star in Sydney raised about $400,000 for the Arrow family and MND awareness.
Near the end of the gala, hosts Jake Duke and Danika Mason read a heartfelt speech from Arrow as he stood to their side.
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Jai Arrow (R) gave a heartfelt message to his supporters at a gala event in his honour.Source: Supplied Source Known
JAI’S SPEECH IN FULL
My whole life, I’ve never really wanted anything to be about me. It’s always been about the people around me.
So, standing here tonight in front of all of you is pretty overwhelming. Mind you, I’m not even going to be saying any of this and I’m getting someone to say it on behalf of me, I can barely speak English at the best of times as well.
But genuinely, from the bottom of my heart — thank you.
To see what has transpired since coming out with my diagnosis has been truly remarkable. The support that myself and my family have received is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly put into words.
If you told me 12 months ago that I’d be sitting in the sheds before my 99th game for the Rabbitohs, with Wayne (Bennett) and Clarky (Jason Clark) pulling my socks up for me, I probably would’ve believed you.
I always knew something was going to get me at some point in my lifetime. I just didn’t think it would be at 30 years old.
MND is a sh*t sandwich, and unfortunately they’re the cards I’ve been dealt.
But let’s be real — there was always something wrong with me. This is probably just the icing on the cake.
There are so many people I need to thank tonight, but there are a few in particular I want to mention.
Dave (Riolo) — thank you for everything, mate.
You’ve been my agent for a long time, and I know this probably hasn’t been your ideal situation. But in fairness, I’ve caused you nonstop grief throughout my entire career, so you should be pretty used to it by now.
From the Origin scandal, to the hilarious interrogations we had because of it — which I can finally laugh about now that I’m retired — and everything else in between, you’ve always had my back.
You’ve been there through the good, the bad and some seriously questionable decisions on my behalf.
So, mate, thank you. I’ll never forget it.
Jai Arrow during the gala dinner, which was attended by about 700 people.Source: Supplied Source Known
To Peter (V’landys) and everyone at the NRL, thank you for the support you’ve given me and my family.
This game has given me so much more than I ever could have imagined, and I feel like I’ll forever be in debt to rugby league.
It’s given me lifelong mates, memories I’ll carry forever, opportunities I never dreamed of and some of the greatest moments of my life.
I also want to thank every NRL club.
One of the greatest things I’ve seen through all of this is how quickly everyone has been able to put rivalries aside. Rugby league can be a pretty brutal game and we spend most of the year trying to bash each other, but when something bigger than footy happens, this game has a pretty incredible way of coming together.
To every club, every player, coach, staff member and supporter who has reached out or shown their support — thank you. It means more than you probably realise.
And I want to make a special mention of the Titans and the Roosters, as well as the NRL, for giving me the opportunity to play my 99th and 100th games for the Rabbitohs.
Those two games will stay with me forever.
It genuinely felt like one of those “where were you?” moments. One of those moments in rugby league that people remember exactly where they were and who they were with when it happened.
To be front and centre of something like that was unreal, but if I’m being honest, it was pretty daunting as well.
I’ve spent my whole career just wanting to play footy and be one of the boys, so to suddenly have that much emotion, attention and support around me was something I wasn’t really prepared for.
But standing there and seeing the way the game came together — clubs, players, fans, everyone — is something I’ll never forget.
For everyone involved to put everything else aside and make that possible for me and my family is something I’ll always be grateful for.
‘A moment no one will ever forget’ | 01:20
To everyone at the Rabbitohs, thank you.
That club has become such a massive part of my life and my family’s life, and the way you’ve supported us through all of this has been unbelievable.
From the people everyone sees on game day, to the people behind the scenes who probably never get the recognition they deserve, I’ll always be grateful for how much care and support you’ve shown me.
Blake (Solly), thank you for everything you’ve done for me and my family. The way you’ve handled everything, and the lengths you’ve gone to to support us, means more than I can probably ever properly explain.
Wayne — I’ve been lucky enough to have you as a coach, but through all of this you’ve been much more than that.
And I know for a fact I used to annoy the absolute sh*t out of you. There were probably plenty of days where you looked at me and thought, “How is this bloke still in my team?”
But no matter how much I carried on, asked dumb questions or probably tested your patience, I’ve always had an enormous amount of love and respect for you.
You’ve got this unbelievable ability to know when to say something, when not to say anything at all, and when just being there is enough.
I’ve learned a lot from you as a footballer, but probably even more as a person.
So thank you, Wayne. Even if I did make your job a lot harder than it needed to be.
And Clarky — mate, thank you.
You’ve done so much for me over the past year and particularly through this period. I don’t think either of us imagined your job description would eventually include pulling my socks up before an NRL game, but here we are.
Seriously though, the care you’ve shown me has meant the world.
The Rabbitohs gave me a home, gave me some of the best years of my career and gave me people that I’ll have in my life long after footy.
And that’s probably the best thing about a footy club — eventually the games finish, but the relationships don’t.
To all the boys I’ve been lucky enough to call teammates over the years — thank you.
One thing I’ll definitely miss is walking through the doors every morning and immediately getting absolutely hammered with relentless banter.
And I’m sure the boys would probably say I gave out just as much as I got.
Then there were the Mad Mondays.
There are plenty of stories from those that probably need to stay exactly where they are.
Some of the funniest moments of my life have been with the boys, and unfortunately for everyone in this room, most of them can never be repeated publicly.
But underneath all of that banter and carrying on is something pretty special.
Emotional Arrow walks out with Souths | 02:44
When you play footy together, you genuinely go to war with each other every week.
You put your body on the line for the bloke standing beside you, and you know he’s going to do exactly the same thing for you.
People probably don’t realise how much time you spend together as teammates. In a lot of ways, you spend more time with the boys than you do with your own family.
You see each other at your best and you definitely see each other at your worst.
And somewhere along the way, those teammates become family.
Since my diagnosis, the way the boys have rallied around me has reminded me exactly why that bond is so special.
But more than that, being around the team gave me a sense of normality through a pretty tough period.
For those few hours at training, in the sheds or around the boys, I wasn’t thinking about MND or what was happening next.
I was just one of the boys again.
I could walk in, get absolutely sprayed over something stupid, give it straight back and for a little while everything felt normal.
That probably meant more to me than any of you realised.
You can take the piss out of each other every single day, absolutely tear shreds off one another and never give anyone an inch — but when one of your mates genuinely needs you, everything else disappears.
That’s what I’ve felt from you boys.
And just so we’re clear — retirement doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of me.
I’m like a cockroach. I’m not going anywhere.
I’ll still be turning up to training, hanging around the sheds, annoying the sh*t out of everyone and offering plenty of advice that no one asked for.
The only thing I’ll really miss is playing.
Actually running out there with your mates and going to war every week — there’s nothing else quite like it.
Training, though?
F*** that. You can have it.
I’ve done enough wrestling, conditioning and getting flogged for one lifetime.
Jai Arrow with Wayne Bennett for his 100th Rabbitohs game. Picture: NRL ImagerySource: The Courier Mail
So to every bloke I’ve shared a dressing room and a field with — I love you boys, and thank you for some of the best years and best memories of my life.
And to my family and friends — thank you.
There are too many of you to name individually, but every single one of you has played a part in getting me through what has been a pretty tough period.
You’ve checked in, you’ve shown up, you’ve made me laugh when I probably needed it most, and more importantly, you’ve treated me like Jai.
Not Jai with MND.
Just Jai.
And that has meant more to me than you probably realise.
I’ve always been lucky with the people I’ve had around me, and over the last 12 months I think I’ve realised that more than ever.
You find out pretty quickly in tough times who your people are, and I can genuinely say I’ve got some of the best.
To my family, thank you for always being there, for keeping me grounded and for putting up with me long before any of this happened.
And to my mates, thank you for continuing to take the piss out of me, because the day you all start being nice to me is probably the day I’ll actually start worrying.
Seriously though, the calls, the messages, the visits and just being around — it all matters.
Every single person who has been part of this journey has made something incredibly difficult feel that little bit easier.
I’ll never be able to properly repay that.
Jai Arrow with his wife Berina and daughter Ayla Rae. Picture: Justin LloydSource: News Corp Australia
And then there are the two most important people in my life.
Berina.
I don’t really know where to start.
You’ve been beside me through everything, and I know this diagnosis hasn’t just changed my life — it’s changed yours too.
You’ve had to carry things that I wish you never had to carry, and somehow you’ve continued to be strong for me, for Ayla and for our family.
There are probably a million things you’ve done that nobody in this room will ever see.
The conversations behind closed doors. The hard days. The things you’ve had to organise. The things you’ve had to worry about while still trying to make everything feel normal.
I see all of it.
And I’ll never be able to thank you enough.
You are my best mate, my biggest supporter and the person I want standing beside me through all of this.
I love you more than I could ever properly say up here.
And Ayla.
You probably won’t understand all of this for a long time, and maybe that’s a good thing.
But I want you to know that you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.
Being your dad is bigger than anything I’ve ever done on a football field.
Bigger than Origin. Bigger than any game, any jersey or anything else footy has ever given me.
You give me a reason to smile every single day, and you give me a reason to keep fighting every single day.
And one day, when you’re old enough to understand all of this, I hope you know how much your dad loves you.
More than anything.
And finally, I want to say something to every person living with MND, every family going through it, and everyone who has walked this road before us.
I know I’m not the only person fighting this.
There are so many people dealing with this disease without the platform, the support or the opportunities that I’ve been lucky enough to have.
So from this point forward, this fight isn’t just about me.
I’ll fight for Berina.
I’ll fight for Ayla.
I’ll fight for my family, my mates and everyone who has stood beside me.
And I’ll fight for every person and every family affected by MND.
I don’t know exactly what the road ahead looks like.
None of us do.
But what I do know is that I’m not going to roll over.
I’m going to keep showing up.
I’m going to keep laughing.
I’m going to keep annoying everyone around me.
And I’m going to keep fighting.
Because if this last year has taught me anything, it’s that I’m not doing any of this alone.
Every person in this room, everyone who has reached out, everyone who has donated, supported, sent a message, turned up to a game or simply been there — you’ve made this journey easier for me and my family.
You’ve given us strength when we’ve needed it.
You’ve reminded me how lucky I am.
And you’ve given me something worth fighting for.
MND might be part of my story now, but it doesn’t get to be the whole story.
So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for standing beside me.
The fight goes on.
And I promise you — I’m not going anywhere quietly.
Whatever comes next, I know I’ll keep fighting, and I know I’ll never have to do it alone.
Because after everything you’ve all shown me, one thing I know for certain is this:
I’ll never walk alone.
Now save the tears, save the sympathy — let’s f***ing party.