By Harley Bennell
JARROD Harbrow will run out for his 100th game on Saturday against Sydney and while it is an impressive achievement, he is such a great role model it could so easily be 200.
Everyone at the SUNS looks up to Jarrod and no one works harder in the community.
It has been well documented what a great influence Karmichael Hunt was on me when I lived with him, but what many people don't realise is how much Jarrod has helped me this year.
When Karmichael and his partner Emma became pregnant I moved out so they could share this special time together alone and Jarrod and his partner Emma put their hands up to let me stay with them.
I have loved it, he has become just like an older brother to me, just like K is.
Every day he influences me somehow, at the moment he is teaching me to cook. And it is not going too bad.
He was injured for the first ten weeks I lived with him so although I was watching what he did around the home and picking up tips on his lifestyle, we'd go our separate ways at work - me off to training or team meetings while he would be with the rehab group.
But now he is back among the boys I see what an impact he has on the entire side.
Jarrod doesn't say much around the club, he's a quiet guy and you won't hear him making a racket. But once he gets on the training track or the playing field he is very vocal. What makes that so impressive is it isn't his natural instinct. He does it because he feels a re to help the club develop our younger players.
He is a great leader.
Jarrod is only 24 but in our group he is one of the oldest and most experienced players.
When I first arrived at the club I saw him as a senior player and have every day since. That's a lot to have asked of him considering he hasn’t been in the game that much longer than us young guys.
In many ways he was still finding his way at a new club as well but he took his seniority seriously and has been a very positive influence on a lot of our younger players.
That is the sort of guy he is.
He has really been a welcome inclusion in the side the past two weeks too. He's played in the midfield a bit which has really given us some spark.
If I had to pick-out what makes Jarrod such a good player I'd say it is the way he breaks the lines, his evasiveness and the ability to execute his elite skills at full pace.
There are not that many players out there who can step like him and he doesn’t mind going back with the flight of the ball either, he has got some good courage.
I said before that he really is like a brother to me and we do things together I used to do with my brother and he with his.
We both grew-up loving hunting, I was after kangaroos and he was after turtles.
These days we fish together. On days off or sometimes on a Sunday after recovery we'll put the boat in the river and go for a cruise, catch a few fish and sometimes light a fire on a bank somewhere and have a feed.
It reminds us both a bit of home.
