Jai Arrow has been the ‘life of the party’ in Queensland’s Origin camp according to head coach Billy Slater.
The 30-year-old linked up with his Maroon teammates despite receiving a heartbreaking motor neurone disease diagnosis that saw him retire from rugby last week.
Arrow was with the team as they went for dinner in Parramatta after their arrival in Sydney on Tuesday.
Arrow will also arrive at Accor Stadium with Queensland as he boards the bus with the team.
Shortly after announcing his retirement, Arrow carried out an interview where he reveealed that his speech had already taken a hit due to the insidious disease.
Jai Arrow has been the ‘life of the party’ in the Queensland camp according to Billy Slater despite heartbreaking motor neurone disease diagnosis
Arrow played 12 times for the Maroons during his career and has featured alongside Cameron Munster, Kurt Capewell and Lindsay Collins who have all been selected for Origins 1
Slater also said that the idea was to support Arrow and show their respects to a well-liked teammate
But that hasn’t stopped him being actively involved with the Maroons.
‘The boys get a kick out of seeing their mate … and he’s still the same Jai,’ Queensland coach Slater said on Tuesday.
‘He’s obviously going through a bit, and his speech is failing him a little bit, but he’s still got the same sense of humour. I can tell he still loves being a Queenslander.’
Across his 11-year career, Arrow played alongside 12 of Queensland’s 19-man team for Origin 1 at either State or NRL level.
Arrow was a notable member of the Maroon team that pulled off the 2020 series upset alongside Kurt Capewell, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Lindsay Collins and Cameron Munster.
And according to coach Slater, those memories have been the order of the day as Arrow caught up with his former teammates.
‘Jai’s one of those guys that loves being around his mates, his teammates, a footy environment. He’s the life of the party, and that was no different last night,’ Slater said.
Slater also went on to say that Arrow’s presence at the camp was more about supporting the 30-year-old who was forced to retire early as opposed to using his struggle as inspiration.
‘He’s giving a whole heap of inspiration but the decision to bring him in was not to inspire the group,’ Slater said.
‘It was certainly to be around him and support him.
‘Us as Queenslanders, we certainly acknowledged our player 196 last night and celebrated what he brought in the Maroon jersey.’
While their intention may not be to use Arrow as purely inspiration, Slater also noted that he has been left in awe of his former teammate’s desire to act as a role model.
Arrow has already communicated his desire to be an advocate for the fight against MND much like Neale Daniher who sadly died on Monday 13 years after his own diagnosis
‘When people like Jai go through adversity and tough times, and they’re thinking about others and what they can do for others, that’s a pretty cool legacy to leave,’ Slater said.
One such figure, AFL legend Neale Daniher, died on Monday, some 13 years after his own diagnosis with MND.
In that time, Daniher became Australia’s most vocal advocate for the disease’s cure and treatment.
Melbourne local Slater witnessed the high esteem in which Daniher was held by the AFL community.
‘If we can leave this earth with a legacy of other people being better people for your time here, well, job done,’ he said.
‘I know Neale Daniher has done that. My love, support and condolences go out to the Daniher family.’
