Jai Arrow broke down in tears during his emotional 100th NRL appearance, but not before he produced a characteristically cheeky moment.
A sold out Allianz Stadium played host for the special occasion with Arrow stepping out onto the turf to face the Sydney Roosters.
He walked out to ‘Stand By Me’ before ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ played in the stadium.
Arrow waved to the crowd and took in the moment before walking off the pitch.
After embracing his replacement Cody Walker, Arrow turned to Souths boss Wayne Bennett and buried his head in the arms of the legendary coach.
Arrow let his emotions pour out as he began crying, before finding his wife Berina Colakovic, with the couple sharing a warm embrace.
Moments before the 31-year-old had been all smiles after shaking hands with his former teammates.
And as he walked off Arrow even produced a cheeky act, flashing his two fingers up into a V towards the direction of the main stand.
“A moment you will never ever, ever forget. A moment no-one witnessing this will ever forget,” said Dan Ginnane on Fox Sports commentary.
“Can you think of anyone better than Wayne Bennett to be there for that moment.
“And all his brothers. So many former players, a host of them.
“South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs, there’s been 236 games between these clubs Cooper, there’s never been one like this.”
“Jai Arrow we stand with you tonight,” added Cooper Cronk.
“The legacy of rugby league is strong but what you’ve done for MND and the next person who has to fight it, huge respect.”
Broadcaster spoils moment
NRL fans are fuming after a broadcaster spoiled Arrow’s special moment by cutting away to adverts.
Sky Sport aired the game in New Zealand and initially showed the build-up to kick off, with Arrow seen preparing to walk out onto the pitch.
But as the star greeted his Sydney Roosters opponents the broadcaster bizarrely decided to cut away from their live feed at the stadium.
Instead adverts flashed up, including a KFC commercial and a gambling show, sending fans apoplectic.
“WHAT WAS THAT Sky Sport NZ????” wrote Facebook page Rugby League Daily. “This is absolutely disgraceful.”
“Oh my God. Jai Arrow was walking out of the tunnel and Sky NZ plays an ad and a gambling ad. I hate it here. What an actual joke,” added X user @0xLimas.
“Someone is getting fired,” commented @WSWanderingEels.
“Embarrassing,” said X user Jessica Farrelly.
Sky Sport cut to a gambling show moments before Arrow stepped onto the pitch
Arrow makes call on his longevity
Arrow has revealed a huge ambition as he battles motor neurone disease, hoping to become the person to live longest with the condition.
Ahead of the game at Allianz Stadium he made an appearance on Triple M’s Beau, Cat and Woodsy Breakfast radio show, which became emotional.
Host Beau Ryan became tearful as he expressed the realisation that he might not see Arrow again.
But the former South Sydney star dismissed his friend immediately and was steadfast in his response.
“Nah, no way, don’t worry about me,” he said.
“I understand that MND can be very confronting, but I give myself every hope to be around for 10 years at least.
“And playing in the NRL, as you know, you have to defy some odds.
“And I’ve done that my whole career. I look at – and you can laugh if you want – I look at Stephen Hawking (regarded as one of the world’s most brilliant minds) and he lived 50 plus years with it.
“Why can’t I be the one to – to live with MND the longest anyone has ever?’’
Arrow, who was diagnosed with MND in May, has a young daughter named Ayla with Berina.
He has previously expressed his wish to be around for them for as long as possible, to be there for them and to inspire others battling MND.
Arrow wants to be around for his family for as long as possible
“I remember when I was diagnosed, I genuinely felt relief,’’ he added.
“And finally I found out. I had a two-week period where I was like, “Oh, no. How long do I have?”
“I thought to myself, ‘How am I going to be there for my family?’.
“After that two-week period, I went, ‘Nah. No way.’.
“Have I had moments? Yeah, I have, but from that point in time, I went, ‘Nah, I refuse to feel sorry for myself and I’ll never show any weakness, to Isla’. It’s not my personality.
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“I can sit here and put on a brave face, but I genuinely I am doing really well.
“Head space wise, family wise. I’m in at training every day with the boys.
“They’re into me, I’m into them. It’s a bit of normality for me.”