Souths player speaks out after revealing post-match moment with Latrell Mitchell

Yahoo

6 days ago

Jai Arrow has described the injury toll at South Sydney as 'crazy' and 'laughable' after he was spotted being consoled by teammate Latrell Mitchell during last Friday night's loss to Penrith. The sad post-match moment summed up the current mood at the Rabbitohs, who saw Keaon Koloamatangi become the latest player sidelined with an injury that rules him out for the remainder of the season.
The Bunnies forward limped off the field in the second half after his ankle buckled in a tackle on Panthers star Luke Garner. Scans later confirmed he'd suffered a high-grade syndesmosis injury that would require surgery, ruling him out for the rest of the year.
It continues a wretched run of injuries for Souths, who are also missing Mitchell, Cameron Murray, Peter Mamouzelos, Jayden Sullivan, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham. Halfback Jamie Humphreys has also been ruled out of Saturday's round 21 clash against Cronulla with concussion, paving the way for English recruit Lewis Dodd to earn his first crack as starting halfback for the depleted Bunnies.
Arrow was visibly distraught after the loss to four-time defending premiers Penrith, and could be seen burying his head into Mitchell's chest as his injured teammate did his best to console him. Arrow has since addressed the current predicament at the club, and admitted the stark reality of the injury crisis hit home when he visited the casualty ward at Rabbitohs training on Tuesday.
Jai Arrow addresses grim injury situation at Souths
"I went in and saw the physio and the rehab crew, there's a pretty solid 1-13 (team) there," Arrow told reporters. The brutal truth is that Koloamatangi's injury means Arrow and Tallis Duncan go into Saturday night's game against the Sharks as the only two Rabbitohs players to feature in every game this season. In contrast, Cronulla have seven players who've played every game.
"It's pretty crazy and pretty laughable with the amount of people we have missing at the moment," Arrow added about the dilemma at the Bunnies. "But it is what it is, all you've got to do is keep turning up and enjoying each other's company and turn up for each other on the field. That's all we can do, really."
Souths have had the most games missed due to injury amongst all NRL clubs this year, and it's taken a heavy toll. The club are languishing in 15th on the ladder with six games and a bye remaining, with veteran coach Wayne Bennett facing the possibility of the first wooden spoon of his long and decorated career.
But Arrow is refusing to dwell on what could have been this year at Souths, who showed so much promise at the start of the season when they won four of their first five games. "It's funny, I think back, we were 4-1 at one stage,' he said. "But I'm not one to dwell on the past. It is what it is. The most important thing is that we've got to have faith in each other and just enjoy this next six weeks of playing footy together."
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Murray hasn't played at all in 2025 after rupturing his Achilles in pre-season, which set the tone for the Rabbitohs' horror year. However, the skipper has eased back into field work at training and is pushing for a return this season, in what would be a massive boost for Souths.
Critics have questioned why the club would risk bringing Murray back from a delicate injury when they are out of finals contention but Arrow has no concerns for his captain. "Someone like Cam, he won't play unless he's ready," he said. "I'm sure he'll make the right decision whether he comes back and plays or not but I'm pretty confident we'll be seeing him back in weeks to come in a Rabbitohs jersey."