Farah was famously stood down from the Tigers mid-season 2016 by coach Jason Taylor and spent the rest of the year running around in reserve grade.

Unwanted after 247 games and a premiership with the club, the NSW hooker has revealed how involved Crowe was in bringing him to Redfern.

 “Russell gave me a call in the early stages of negotiations which was a real shock,” Farah told Newscorp.

“Initially, I missed his call because I never answer private numbers. But then to get his message, it’s not every day you get a call from somebody like that.

“So I got in touch and we had a good long chat. He sent me some text messages later as well.

“And for him to go out of his way like that — to go to that effort to convince me to sign — it really made me feel wanted again.

“For the previous 12 months, I’d been at the other end of the scale. So him calling, it was the complete opposite of where I’d been ... it was massive.”

Farah said Crowe’s unrivalled love of South Sydney was obvious from the get-go.

“He spoke about Souths as a club and how he saw me fitting in, how I could make a difference,’’ Farah said.

“That was really important to hear. And not just from him, either.

“Sam Burgess was ringing every two days. Greg Inglis was calling too, and I had (CEO) Shane Richardson around at my house.

“And hearing them speak, their passion for the club and how much they thought I could help, it really made me feel wanted.”