‘Won’t fight this alone’: Bennett details first signs of Arrow’s diagnosis; Chiefs lock in assistant — NRL Daily

South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has detailed the heartbreaking toll Jai Arrow’s MND diagnosis has taken on the club, and when symptoms first presented themselves last December.

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In a heartfelt interview with Code Sports, Bennett revealed Arrow’s strength deteriorated when doing weight training during the beginning of the club’s 2026 pre-season, while simple football tasks such as grabbing the ball also seemed harder than normal

“It started about December,” the Rabbitohs coach told Code Sports.

“Jai was noticing some changes to himself. He couldn’t hold the ball properly and didn’t have any strength in one of his arms. He could hold the ball, but he wasn’t gripping it properly.

“In the weights room, he found himself not as strong as he had been.

“Something wasn’t right. He kept training with us, but we took him out of contact (tackling and wrestling) sessions.

“We thought maybe he had a shoulder injury and that’s when the process started, to find out what was going on with his body.”

After Arrow was absent for the club’s opening match of the 2026 season, whispers started to emerge that he had suffered a suspected shoulder injury, which had set him back.

However, doctors began a medical investigation into the forward’s issues as they feared it was more than a normal shoulder injury.

“They started the process and it’s taken us this long to come to the final outcome. At the time (of testing), they didn’t realise what was coming either,” Bennett continued.

“We put our trust in the specialists.

“The physio and doctor didn’t know what they were dealing with initially for Jai. They just had a guy losing a bit of strength and we were trying to work out why.

“We kept it pretty tight, even within the club. But the boys were staring to see the deterioration in him. A few came to me and said, ‘Is Jai OK?’.”

With Arrow vowing to fight, he is set to join the Queensland Maroons camp in the lead-up to State of Origin series-opener on Wednesday, having previously represented them on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, Bennett confirmed that the Rabbitohs will always be there for him and will do whatever is needed for him and his family, including his one-year-old daughter Ayla Rae.

“Jai won’t fight this alone. He knows that. Jai has amazing spirit. He has always been a fighter,” Bennett added.

“He didn’t make it this far in the NRL because he was a natural or because he was fast or because he was some 110kg giant side-stepping people.

“Jai Arrow just got there by sheer determination and hard work and he always put his body on the line for the team.”

CHIEFS LOCK IN EELS GREAT AS ASSISTANT

The PNG Chiefs have locked in Luke Burt as their first assistant coach ahead of their entry into the NRL in the 2028 season.

The all-time leading tryscorer at the Parramatta Eels, Burt, toured the club’s facilities in Port Moresby earlier this month before his appointment was announced on Sunday morning.

Spending 14 years in the NRL as one of the game’s most reliable goal-kickers during his playing days, he arrives after holding coaching stints with the Eels and Gold Coast Titans, who named him their interim head coach in 2019.

Following this, he joined the Burleigh Bears in 2020 and has been the side’s head coach since 2023, where he led them to a Minor Premiership and Grand Final in his first year before winning the premiership last season.

“He had an exceptional career as a player, but what excites us the most is what he has done as a coach,“ the club’s GM of Football Michael Chammas said.

”He has shown he can develop players and build a winning culture through what he has done at the Burleigh Bears.”

“Luke and his partner Madelin visited PNG recently and absolutely loved their time in the country. They are excited about the opportunity to build something special with the Chiefs alongside our head coach, Willie Peters.”

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