South Sydney players have vowed to use the emotion of Jai Arrow’s 100th appearance as extra motivation to go after their most hated rivals from the opening whistle when they do battle at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
The final-round derby clash will be anything but a love-in, according to Rabbitohs skipper Cam Murray, despite the Roosters’ cooperation in allowing Arrow to take the field one last time so he can bring up the milestone in the red and green.
Roosters chairman Nick Politis also paid for Arrow to head overseas to explore revolutionary treatment following his diagnosis with motor neurone disease earlier this year.
The sight of a tearful Arrow leading Souths onto the field to the strains of You’ll Never Walk Alone last Saturday – not to mention the dressing-room TV footage of coach Wayne Bennett helping the representative forward to pull his socks on – made for the most touching scenes of the season.
And when Arrow takes the field one final time at Allianz Stadium, there will hardly be a dry eye in what is expected to be a full house.
However, Souths players have pledged not to allow the emotion of the occasion to leave them drained for the opening exchanges of the match, and are determined to hand the severely depleted Roosters a third straight defeat heading into the finals.
“We’ll soak up the atmosphere and all the love from the crowd, then you have to flick that switch as soon as the kick-off happens and get ready for war,” forward Keaon Koloamatangi said on Tuesday.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in some big games in my life, a grand final, and playing for my country and state, but Saturday was up there with one of the best moments of my career, especially being close to Jai, and knowing how much it meant to him.
“We had to soak it all in. Jai deserves all the love he gets. I tried my best not to shed a tear. I also realised I had a game of footy to play, and I wanted to make sure I backed that up with a good performance that would do Jai proud.
“It’s the biggest rivalry, and if you don’t come out of the gates, you’ll be left embarrassed. A lot of people out there live for this game, so you want to make sure you put in a big one.”
Murray said the club had been on a rollercoaster of emotion since his MND diagnosis forced Arrow to retire earlier this season.
“As he walked out on the weekend and we were next to him, a few of the boys got teary, and most of the people inside the stadium were in the same boat,” Murray said. “It was funny when he waved off the interchange and wanted the first hit-up.
“The way Jai handles it, one minute he’s laughing, the next minute we’re giving him a cuddle and trying to cheer him up, then he’s back laughing again, and making light of an extremely hard situation for him and his family. I’m so proud of him.”
Murray said it was important the players try to deal with the emotion the same way they did last weekend.
“We didn’t speak too much about it or give it too much energy; we embraced it and let it run its natural cause,” Murray said.
“We did what our instincts told us to do. We made it special for Jai, and let him enjoy a bit of a taste of what it was like putting the boots on and going to war with us.
“Then you try to channel it in a way that allows you to play your best footy – you don’t want it to over-hype you or let it drain you, but you find that happy medium.
“I think everyone would be upset if it was [a love-in].
“The unwritten rule is you go out there to represent the jersey, the colours, your teammates, your family, and what you’ve been working for since the ore-season.
“There’s no love lost, the rivalry is still there, we’ll go out and try and be our best and try to get the win, for sure.”
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