‘I wouldn’t be able to fight my way out of a wet paper bag’: Arrow

South Sydney enforcer Jai Arrow is the first to admit he is not a fighter.

“I wouldn’t be able to fight my way out of a wet paper bag,” Arrow tells the Herald.

“But I do love the physicality of the game, I love the aggression, I love the challenge and the passion.

“I’ll put my hand up every time and do what I can for my team to try and win the game.”

Arrow was paid good money to leave the Gold Coast Titans and join Souths to replace former firebrand Sam Burgess.

For all the workhorses in the Bunnies pack, few love getting in the face of rival players more than Arrow. He put a shot on Liam Martin during the qualifying final as the Panthers forward spotted his rival in the corner of his eye at the last second, then proceeded to give him a gobful. He was at it again early in the second half when he whacked Kurt Capewell and forced the ball free.

Aggressor … but not a fighter: Jai Arrow fronts up to Cody Walker in Origin, and Roosters rival Daniel Suluka-Fifita.Credit:NRL Photos

Arrow instantly won over the Souths faithful when he was front and centre for the first fiery derby with the Sydney Roosters at the start of the season – he was even punched in the back of his head by Daniel Suluka-Fifita for his troubles – and always hounded the Blues in any given Origin game.

While Arrow told the Herald earlier this year he “worried about my career” after being booted out of Maroons camp for inviting a dancer back to his hotel room, which was a clear biosecurity bubble breach, the “dumb decision” also helped him try and push harder to repay his clubmates.

“There were a lot of lessons I learnt from that Origin incident,” Arrow said. “One of the big ones was to not do stupid things. It was a dumb decision. But I also learnt not to let anyone down, including the people you care about and your teammates.

“I’m doing my best for the boys here at Souths.

All pumped up during the Panthers clash.Credit:Getty Images

“The start of games are very fast and it can be hard to be constantly fired up. But when I’m off the bench I get to come on and be that ball of energy and add that bit of fire in the middle.

“You try to be that aggressor, but in the right way and in a smart way.”

Arrow played in two finals games with Brisbane under Bennett in 2016, then a further two in 2017, only to miss the preliminary final loss to the North Queensland Cowboys.

The big reason Arrow signed a long-term deal with Souths was because he saw the club had the roster to challenge for a title. He was reminded he had made the right call when boarding a plane back from Townsville a couple of weeks ago with the Titans, his former club who did well to reach the finals but were about to kickstart their Mad Monday celebrations.

“I openly said that when I signed, and that’s still the belief – I came to Souths to win comps,” Arrow said.

“I think anyone who takes one look at our squad knows we have the team [to win]. I’m not done yet, and I won’t be satisfied until we’re holding up that trophy.”

Arrow, who can play in the middle or an edge, said about his Origin ban, and having to isolate on his own when the competition picked up and moved to Queensland: “I definitely think I’ve been a lot better since [the Origin ban]. I owed it to them to play good footy for the rest of the year and it’s something I’ll try to stick to."

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