Incredible scenes followed South Sydney Rabbitohs' win over the Newcastle Knights on Saturday, with the club throwing Jai Arrow the world's biggest birthday party, where 30,000 fans swarmed the field following the full-time siren.
Arrow retired from the NRL in May following a diagnosis of motor neurone disease at age 30, with an overwhelming amount of support in the rugby league community shown towards his fight.
The NRL held the World's Biggest Birthday Party for Jai in Round 19, an occasion for fans and the Rabbitohs to celebrate his 31st birthday while giving an opportunity to fundraise for research for MND.
Rabbitohs rising star Ashton Ward recounted the moments right after full-time when fans flooded the field, an occasion which mirrored a similar moment in March, when teammate Alex Johnston became the all-time leading try-scorer and fans rushed onto the field to celebrate.
“There was definitely a bit more to it, especially (that) it was a big crowd out there, so it was good to see everyone turn up and get behind (us), especially Jai for his birthday," Ward said to Zero Tackle.
"I got stuck out there when everyone came on, I got caught signing a kid's jersey, and (the) next thing I know there's 50 people around me, so I was out there for a while, but I got pulled out.
"It's a good thing for the game, especially for someone like Jai, he deserves that sort of stuff."
The Rabbitohs survived a late scare from the Knights, who were trailing 26-6 before a second-half assault spearheaded by Kalyn Ponga brought them within an inch of spoiling the birthday party.
After a poor display last week against the high-flying Penrith Panthers, the Rabbitohs knew they had to bounce back, with Ward insisting the club had to rise for the occasion of Jai's birthday.
“With Jai's birthday today, we wanted to put in a good performance for him," the 22-year-old halfback added.
"But not also (just) for him, we had a pretty ordinary game last week, so we wanted to come out today and put a huge performance in, it got a little bit scary there at the end, but I'm glad the boys stuck and we got the win."
Many NRL clubs and sponsors have gone on board to assist the Rabbitohs in Arrow's fight with MND, which consists of generous funds being donated for tries scored across July, including an arrow celebration post-scoring.
Not only within the NRL, but athletes in rival codes such as the AFL and French rugby union have struck the arrow celebration, while also being trademarked by professional surfer Dane Henry in the WSL.
Halfback Ward has been relishing his time as the chief playmaker of the Rabbitohs, and despite being unsigned for next year, he remains keen to lock down the halfback jersey long-term.
With a plethora of representative stars littered through the side, Ward is doing an exceptional job leading them around the park with his composed kicking game and linking with outside men.
The Gerringong Lions junior is parked on an all-star right edge, including wrecking ball David Fifita, Jack Wighton and Campbell Graham, who keep him protected from opposing threats looking to isolate the rookie half.
“I'm pretty grateful to have the edge that I do, I've got some big boys inside me, outside me, and look after me," Ward said following the Rabbitohs' win on Jai's birthday.
"I thought we worked well together today, defensively, we are all working well, we're trusting each other. In attack, we got our plays on that we wanted to, and created tries on our edge, which I was happy with."
Ward finished the match with one line-break assist and one try assist, putting in a slick inside ball for Tevita Tatola to cross for the second of the afternoon, while also having his fingerprints on a handful of other Rabbitohs tries.
The playing group's connection with one another and getting around Arrow during his tough battle has been a key element in Ward settling into the top grade.
"Me, him and Tal (Tallis Duncan) we've got this little thing going, we've got a bit of banter with each other, we like taking the piss out of each other, and Jai loves people taking the piss out of him, so we've (always) got a little thing going on which is always fun (around camp)."
The Rabbitohs, who now shoot past the Dolphins for sixth place, look to their next assignment: travelling to the nation's capital to face the Canberra Raiders on Saturday.
They will be well in the mix for a top four berth when fourth-placed Cronulla Sharks play fifth-placed Knights on Friday, leaving the door ajar for the Rabbitohs to fly under the radar and secure a quality position come finals time in September.
