The NRL has been urged to introduce a fundraising initiative tentatively titled “Try For Jai” to raise money for and awareness of motor neurone disease after South Sydney forward Jai Arrow was diagnosed with the condition.
In an announcement that rocked the rugby league community on Wednesday, Souths said the 30-year-old forward would be forced to immediately retire because of the debilitating disease, which affects the nerve cells required for movements such as walking, swallowing, talking and breathing.
Arrow’s speech was clearly impacted when he told Nine’s Danika Mason on Wednesday night he would fight the disease, and “nothing is going to take me out easy”.
Now, one of Arrow’s good friends and former Rabbitohs teammate Tom Burgess – who lost his father, Mark, to MND – says “Try for Jai” would be the ultimate way for the NRL not only to raise money for sufferers, but more importantly to shine the spotlight on the condition.
The name is a play on Try July, a promotion which ran over the past six seasons backed by Sportsbet, which donated $5000 for every try during the month of July. Nearly $2 million was raised for various causes, including the players’ hardship fund.
Try July was axed this year because of the number of clubs entering anti-gambling partnerships or being sponsored by Sportsbet’s rivals.
Burgess said the cause was too important to ignore.
“If Try July is gone, why not have Try For Jai?” Burgess told this masthead. “You don’t need a sports betting agency backing it. Everyone should come together to support it and raise money.
“And why only keep it to July? Why not keep it going the rest of this year? If you were going to give this challenge to anyone, Jai is the one who will take it head-on. Just the way he is. I know he will do it with a smile on his face. He’s already kept his sense of humour.
“My dad used to say to me, ‘If you don’t smile, you’ll cry’. I’m still in shock about the diagnosis. It was so tough. I actually didn’t find out until yesterday. My older brother Luke knew. As soon as I found out, the first thing I wanted to do was give him a big cuddle and sit with him.
“I spoke to Jai this morning. He doesn’t want us feeling bad for him. But raising awareness about MND is the key.”
RLPA chief Clint Newton backed the Try For Jai proposal. “We would absolutely get behind any activation like this that would support someone in the NRL family,” he said. “Now Try July is gone, we’ve been trying to work with the NRL and clubs to get a similar activation off the ground, because Try July was hugely helpful for the beneficiaries.
“We are working with Jai’s team, and it’s critical he gets the support he needs. Any additional support like this could be able to do even more for him, providing it’s what Jai wants in this difficult time.”
Queensland forward Reuben Cotter said the news of his former Maroons teammate’s health was “devastating”, and that “all the boys will be drawing inspiration from him next Wednesday night” for Origin I.
MND has impacted several sports stars, including former England international and eight-time Super League winner Rob Burrow, who battled it bravely for nearly five years before his death, at age 41, in 2024.
In the AFL arena, legendary former Essendon captain and Melbourne coach Neale Daniher has lived with it since 2013, while Queensland great Carl Webb died from MND at 42.
According to the FightMND Australia website, the average life expectancy from diagnosis is 27 months, and the average age of diagnosis is about 65 but can be as young as 20.
Data shows that the number of annual MND deaths in Australia has more than tripled over the last few decades, rising from 238 in 1986 to 781 in 2023.
