CHASE FOR JAI BUNNIES’ BID FOR ARROW RAMPS UP
RUGBY LEAGUE: South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has compared Jai Arrow to Rabbitohs legend Sam Burgess, as the club ramps up its bid to lure the Queensland star to Redfern.
Rabbitohs bosses will meet with the Gold Coast Titan’s manager David Riolo today to discuss a $4 million deal.
South Sydney are preparing a formal offer to snare the Maroons gun’s signature on a longterm contract from 2021.
The Titans insist they are doing all they can to keep Arrow but culture boss Mal Meninga warned they will not pay “overs” to retain players.
Bennett said: “Me and Jai work great together. He knows if he comes to South Sydney I will want him here. It’s a great club with a lot of tradition and Jai would fit in well here.
“I let Jai go at the Broncos. I was honest with him. I told him he was ready for first grade and he was stuck behind a few blokes and he deserved to get an opportunity somewhere else. I have been proven right on that.
“You can’t hold young men back. If they can’t get an opportunity at your club you need to give them a chance because it is about their careers.”
Arrow, 24, debuted at the Broncos under Bennett in 2016 and played 24 NRL games in two seasons before heading to the Titans.
He has made 38 appearances for the Titans over the past two years and developed into a Queensland Origin mainstay, but the Gold Coast now face a fight to retain the local product.
The Titans have discussed a three-year extension with Arrow but South Sydney’s proposal is more lucrative and would see him join a successful club from the reigning wooden spooners.
The Rabbitohs are expecting to have cash to splash after the injury-forced retirement of Burgess and Bennett said
Arrow was the ideal player to replace the English star.
“We need to sign a forward,” Bennett said. “We’ve lost the best forward in the game in Sam Burgess so we’re not going to buy a halfback or a centre, we need a forward and Jai is the ideal type of guy to replace Sam.
“Every player is unique but there are similarities between Sam and Jai. Sam is a bigger body than Jai but Jai is a competitor.”