It came down to one reason Why Arrow chose South Sydney over the Gold Coast

Firebrand forward Jai Arrow can still remember sitting at home one night on the Gold Coast and drafting an old-fashioned list of pros and cons about whether to join South Sydney.

The Titans were his hometown club, and they had offered him close to $2 million over three seasons to stick around. Mal Meninga did his best to convince him to stay put, as did in-coming Justin Holbrook, who was still in England at the time with St Helens.

Souths had just medically retired Sam Burgess and needed someone with similar aggression.

Wayne Bennett was the first on the phone to Arrow. Then Bennett’s assistant Jason Demetriou called. Bunnies former footy boss Shane Richardson flew to the Gold Coast and met Arrow at the home of Jamie Mathiou, the former Leeds prop who did some recruitment for the Titans and Sydney Roosters, and considers Arrow his third son.

Souths were prepared to table a four-year deal worth around $3 million. Some at the Titans remain convinced that figure was closer to $850,000 a season.

“The first thought was to stay at the Gold Coast,” Arrow told The Sun-Herald. “I was happy, but Souths refused to give up. They made me feel wanted. I thought, ‘how do I say no to this club?’.

Jai Arrow’s decision to move to Souths was ultimately based on the club’s ability to win a premiership.Credit:Getty Images

“After looking at the pros and cons and taking advice from people, it ultimately came down to one reason â€" where was I a better chance of winning a comp?

“I chose Souths. Now I’m playing in a grand final.”

Arrow has been excellent in his first year at Redfern, especially with his aggression, which has been on full display the past few games when starting off the bench. His sheer presence was enough to distract Liam Martin and force him to drop the ball in the qualifying final before he let the Penrith forward know about it.

Immortal Andrew Johns is clearly a fan and wrote in his Herald column on Friday that Arrow was “the big joker in the pack”.

Out of my way ... Jai Arrow on the attack in the qualifying final against Penrith.Credit:Getty Images

“He’s been sensational,” Johns wrote.

The Titans took no offence to Arrow’s thinking about Souths being better placed to win a competition in the short term. And had Arrow stayed, Titans officials concede they would not have been able to make a multi-million dollar play for David Fifita.

Fifita commanded around $1 million a year but has so far failed to deliver the same consistent brand of bruising football Arrow has.

Arrow had already left Bennett once at the end of 2017, leaving the Broncos to join the Titans, and was not overly keen to knock back the supercoach a second time.

Bennett handed Arrow his debut at Brisbane in 2016, but when the Titans offered him the chance to return home, Arrow made a point of making sure the coach was the first to know about his plans.

“It’s daunting being a kid and telling a coach who has done it all you were leaving,” Arrow said.

“But Wayne was really good about it. He said, ‘I’m glad you’re taking the opportunity down there [at the Titans], establish yourself, and one day I’d love to get you back’. He wasn’t cranky. He congratulated me.

“When he was at Souths he called me and said, ‘Jai, I want to get you down here, we could use you’.”

The 26-year-old is a Queensland Origin representative, and sounded remarkably calm when chatting with the Herald late in the week. He said the nerves were much worse leading into the preliminary final against Manly.

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