Cody Walker has vowed to carry the emotion of Jai Arrow's fight into South Sydney's finals charge, with his close mate's humour helping the Rabbitohs through their toughest night of 2026.
Friday's 50-20 win over the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium will go down as one of the most emotional moments in rugby league this century, after Arrow's on-field cameo.
South Sydney nailed every element of Arrow's 100th appearance for the club following his motor neurone disease (MND) diagnosis, after special rules allowed the 31-year-old to walk the Rabbitohs on and exit before kick off.
Arrow's entrance through a guard of honour while "You'll Never Walk Alone" played, and long embrace with coach Wayne Bennett as he left the field, will no doubt become one of the defining images of this season.
It was Bennett who handed Arrow his debut at Brisbane in 2016, brought him to South Sydney in 2021, and had the idea of having him on the field for the past weeks.
But what was missed on Friday night was Arrow appearing to request at least one play when referee Adam Gee blew time on, before turning his attention to Walker as the five-eighth replaced him.
"I thought it was going to be a little bit tougher, given it was the last time and with the crowd and atmosphere," Walker said.
"But then he was walking off flipping me the bird, which made me laugh.
"It was hard to put into words what was going through my head at that point in time given how close we are.
"He'll be part of the club forever. I don't think there's anyone that has been a current player diagnosed with this cruel disease.
"It's really difficult to witness one of your good mates go through that stuff.
"It's been a journey for him, but you can't fault how he's handled everything that's been thrown in front of him. He's an inspiration to each and every one of us."
How the Rabbitohs balance that emotion and inspiration through the finals series will be of interest.
Football takes a back seat when considering Arrow's battle, with the father-of-one becoming one of the public faces of the fight against MND in Australia.
But it is evident the Rabbitohs have been able to find a source of inspiration in Arrow.
They flogged Brisbane when Arrow was first honoured by fans in June, and again on the former Queensland State of Origin lock's birthday in July.
Souths also came out hot in their win against Gold Coast last week, before the emotional scenes turned into a party atmosphere at the Sydney ground in the 30-point win.
Interesting too is what lesson Bennett may have taken from past tragedies, having been at the helm of Newcastle when Alex McKinnon suffered spinal injuries in 2014.
"It's hard to quantify," Walker said.
"It's one of those things that we can certainly harness the emotion and use him as a bit of an inspiration for the rest of the year.
"It's important that we don't go too far with all that stuff and make sure we're focusing on the job at hand.
"I think we've done that every single time; we've worried about the job at hand and not got too emotional with the occasion.
"We haven't spoken too much about it leading into the games because naturally you're going to get up for those occasions given the atmosphere."
