South Sydney forward Jai Arrow has ended his NRL career effective immediately after receiving a motor neurone disease diagnosis. In his first public comments since the news, Arrow said the illness is already affecting his ability to talk, while he turns to tre
Jai Arrow has spent his adult life building a reputation on toughness—up the middle, through the contact, under the spotlight. On Wednesday, he walked into a press conference with that same front in place, but the damage from motor neurone disease was there before he even explained it.
At 30 years old, Arrow retired from the NRL effective immediately after the diagnosis was confirmed. He did not speak at the podium where Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly read a statement on his behalf. Yet within hours, Arrow addressed Channel Nine, and the change in his speech was plain as viewers watched him talk.
Arrow has now put the game behind him to concentrate on fighting the disease and spending time with his fiancée Berina Colakovic and their one-year-old daughter, Ayla Rae. When he was asked about how his daughter is helping him cope, he said she inspires him because he can still see her grow.
“She’s at a really good age now and I am able to watch her grow into her own person,” Arrow said on 9News Sydney.
He added: “She has got a really funny personality and she’s my greatest strength.”
The question on everyone’s mind was how he reacted when he first heard the news. Arrow’s answer carried the shock in it, but also a brief, disarming defiance. Asked about his first reaction to the diagnosis, he said: “I laughed.”
“That’s not that I laughed, but my first question was ‘all right, where do I go now?’” Arrow said.
He told viewers that the condition had progressed from November until the time of his announcement.
“[It has] progressed from November until now,” he said. “Speech is one of those things [that is different].”
Arrow stayed focused when he was pressed about what the future looks like. “To fight,” he said.
“I wanted to do this to let people know I am OK and I am ready to fight.”
He said he has “a lot” he wants to do, and that nothing would knock him down “easy.”
“I do really have a lot. Nothing is gonna take me out easy. I wanna do everything I can – any trial, any medication that will maintain me for as long as I can.”
Arrow also said he wants his fight to be seen beyond his own family.
“I want to inspire other people who have been diagnosed.”
What Rabbitohs released earlier on Wednesday set out the medical foundation for a decision that will reshape both his life and his NRL legacy. Solly read Arrow’s statement on his behalf after Arrow had undergone extensive medical testing and consultations regarding ongoing symptoms. Solly said Arrow had “recently received a diagnosis relating to a nerve and neurological condition.”.
Solly added that further tests, specialist reviews and medical processes were still ongoing, and that Arrow’s doctors would continue to assess his condition.
Solly said that over recent months, Arrow’s symptoms had affected different parts of his everyday life. He also said Arrow was “currently not medically cleared to train or play at the required level” and would be stepping away from training and playing duties while he focuses fully on health treatment and rehabilitation.
The statement also underlined Arrow’s immediate needs as much as the diagnosis. Solly said: “What I need right now isn’t sympathy or sadness. What I need is support, understanding, and privacy while my family and I navigate this difficult time.”
At the press conference, Souths coach Wayne Bennett offered praise and support for a player he has known for nearly a decade, even trying to bring a touch of levity. Bennett joked, “If you look at his football ability, he’s not what you’d call a natural.”
The moment sat alongside a different kind of timeline—one that has recently been set by family milestones. Arrow proposed to Berina Colakovic during a romantic post-season holiday in Italy in October 2024. In December, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together on Instagram. Their daughter. Ayla Rae. was born in April 2025. and the couple marked her first birthday just weeks ago with heartwarming photos.
Arrow’s retirement ends a career built over years of commitment. He played 178 first-grade games, proving himself as one of the toughest and most committed players in the NRL. His honours included winning the George Piggins Medal in 2025 as the Rabbitohs’ player of the year. as well as winning the Bob McCarthy club person of the year award in 2025.
He was also recognised for community work, receiving the Souths Cares Award for outstanding contributions to the community and The Burrow Appreciation Award in 2024. Arrow was a finalist for the NRL’s Ken Stephen Medal in 2025 for his work with Souths Cares, Whatability and Vinnies Vans.
On the field, his NRL journey included a two-season stint at the Brisbane Broncos and four seasons at the Gold Coast. Between 2018 and 2023, he played 12 games for Queensland. He helped the Maroons win series in 2020, 2022 and 2023. He also played in the Rabbitohs’ 2021 grand final loss to Penrith.
For those who have followed the game and its wider battles. Arrow’s diagnosis landed with extra weight because the sport has already seen other MND losses. His diagnosis comes two and a half years after former Maroons hardman Carl Webb died of MND aged 42. The rugby league world was also rocked when Western Suburbs. Balmain and North Sydney great Scott Gale died of the debilitating condition at just 39 in 2004.
Motor neurone disease is rare and mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s. but it can hit adults of all ages. It is caused by problems with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones—cells that gradually stop working over time. and for which the reason remains unknown. Motor neurones control the muscles responsible for movement. speech and breathing. and Arrow’s own comments on Wednesday showed that those functions are already under strain.
For now, Arrow’s focus has shifted from the grind of training and match days to something harder and more intimate: treatment, rehabilitation and the days he can still watch his daughter become who she is.
In a game where careers can end in one tackle, this one ended in a different kind of impact—one that has already begun to change how he speaks, and how he plans to fight from here.
Jai Arrow South Sydney Rabbitohs motor neurone disease NRL retirement MND Berina Colakovic Ayla Rae Wayne Bennett Blake Solly