Jai Arrow South Sydney: Psychic predicted Gold Coast product’s Rabbitohs move
South Sydney legend Sam Burgess has questioned the Titans’ decision to let Jai Arrow walk away from the club as the Gold Coast product revealed a card reading session predicted the future.
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Jai Arrow held ambitions of captaining the Titans as South Sydney legend Sam Burgess questioned the Gold Coast’s decision to let the Maroons star walk.
Arrow will come up against the Rabbitohs for the first time on Saturday since signing a $3.2 million contract to join Souths from next year.
The Rabbitohs signed Arrow last Christmas Eve to replace the inspirational Burgess, who was forced into retirement by a shoulder injury.
Souths won the tug of war for Arrow’s signature after blowing the Titans out of the water with a four-year deal worth $500,000 more than the Gold Coast’s offer.
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A Gold Coast product, Arrow made his NRL debut for the Broncos in 2016, but it was a move to the Titans in 2018 that catapulted him into the State of Origin arena.
Arrow, 24, broke down informing the Titans of his decision to leave, and was overlooked for the captaincy this year in favour of Kevin Proctor.
Arrow said he had held ambitions of leading the Titans, and once scoffed at a psychic’s prediction that he would leave the Gold Coast.
“I would have loved to have captained the club,” Arrow told The Courier-Mail. “I thought I would definitely stay here for a long time. It’s my home town, I love it, I love the club.
“We were at the team hotel in Sydney for a game in 2018, my first year at the Titans, and there was a psychic card reader there.
“About 10 of us got chatting away to these ladies and one of them decided to do a card-reading session for us. She told me to pick a few cards and told me I would be leaving the Gold Coast.
“I thought ‘please, no chance, she’s off her head’. Twelve months later I was deciding to leave. I can’t knock her now.
“I’ve still got a job to do here. I’ve got to turn up every week and do my role for the team. I have to be a leader.
“I’m focused on playing good footy for the Titans. In a way it will be weird (to play the Rabbitohs) but I’ll go about my stuff as I usually do and hopefully perform against my future club.”
Arrow was savaged by sections of Titans fans after signing with Souths, given he had publicly declared he didn’t intend on leaving the Gold Coast.
In the end, Souths’ offer was too good to refuse and the opportunity to link up with ex-Broncos coaches Wayne Bennett and Jason Demetriou at Redfern appealed.
Arrow’s four appearances for the Titans this year have been at his usual high standard, and the hardworking lock said he wanted to leave the Gold Coast on good terms.
“I’m way more comfortable with the decision now than when I had to tell everyone I was leaving the club,” he said.
“I was copping a bit of crap from the boys and coaching staff at the start, but that’s all stopped now.
“It’s not going to change the way I play or act. I will always wear my heart on my sleeve. No matter what jersey I’ve got on, I will always play to the best of my ability.
“I want to have a good year and leave on good terms. That’s all I can really do.”
The Rabbitohs went hard for Arrow following Burgess’ retirement, and tried to get him to the club for this season, but the Titans refused to release their best player.
Burgess said he was surprised the Titans didn’t fight harder to keep Arrow, who was the perfect player to join the Rabbitohs.
“Jai is going to be great for Souths,” Burgess said.
“Jai will bring some honesty and accountability. He will bring a work ethic every NRL player needs.
“Jai doesn’t have to be like me, he made the NRL being himself and will have good forwards around him.
“It’s a big blow for the Titans to lose him. I was surprised they let him go. He is a big name player for the Titans and they are going to miss him.
“But every player has different ambitions and Jai wants to win a premiership, like any player.”
The Titans opted to not engage in a bidding war with Souths after being burned paying overs for players in recent years.
Coach Justin Holbrook said he was at peace with the Gold Coast’s decision and he expected Arrow to leave the Titans on a high.
“I accepted that when it happened, I’m not wasting any time thinking about that,” he said.
“He is with us this year and we’re getting the best out of it. He will give his best. He’ll move on next year and so will we.
“No one can try any harder than Jai. He can never be accused of anything else than giving his absolute best.”
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