Jai Arrow will start the Rabbitohs' last two games of the season. (Getty Images: Brendon Thorne)
The NRL has changed its interchange rules to allow Jai Arrow to start the Rabbitohs' final two games of the 2026 regular season, taking him to 100 games for South Sydney.
The 31-year-old Arrow was forced to medically retire after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The Rabbitohs finish the regular season against Arrow's former club, the Titans, on the Gold Coast, before a clash with rivals the Roosters in Sydney.
Jai Arrow will make cameo appearances in the final two rounds of the regular season in order to reach 100 games for South Sydney.
In one of the feel-good stories of the NRL season, the forward who retired with motor neurone disease in May has been approved to start on the field in rounds 26 and 27.
Arrow will then be substituted out in the opening seconds before any active involvement in play.
Arrow, in jersey number 23, has been named co-captain with Cameron Murray, who is listed to come off the bench.
It came after the Rabbitohs made an appeal to the NRL to grant the former Queensland representative an on-field swansong while still able to walk and run.
The initiative gives Arrow two final chances to farewell an NRL career that featured a grand-final appearance in 2021 and 12 State of Origin caps.
The NRL has granted Souths special dispensation to name Arrow as an extra player on today's team list and an extra substitution in their rotation.
Former NRL player Jai Arrow says he is determined to raise money and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease until a cure is found.
The matches, against Gold Coast and the Sydney Roosters, will bring Arrow's tally to 180 career games and 100 for the Rabbitohs.
Arrow will lead the team out on both occasions and sit on the interchange bench in Souths kit after being substituted out.
The Titans and Roosters have both approved the plan, as have the Rugby League Players Association.
