Josh Papali’i prepares for his 300th NRL game for the Raiders this Sunday

Josh Papali’i has often told the story of his move to Canberra from Queensland as a teenager to play in the Raiders under 18 SG Ball team.

Despite growing up in Logan after moving to Australia from New Zealand at five years of age, Papali’i says he hadn’t heard of Canberra before being signed by the Raiders.

He was billeted by a Canberra family, as the young recruits often are.

While he may not have heard of Canberra, the rugby league world was soon about to hear plenty about Papali’i.

When he made his NRL debut in Round 10 of the 2011 season against the Melbourne Storm, it was a day after his 19th birthday. It was obvious from his first carry that he was going to make an impact.

Often viewed as a Ruben Wiki look-alike in his early days with the Raiders, Papali’i played a key role in an upset in that game against the Storm, which the Raiders won 20-12.

Alan Tongue was the captain at that time and David Furner was the coach as the Raiders ended an eight-game losing streak.

To say that it has all been smooth sailing since then, as he prepares to play his 300th NRL game for the Raiders, would be a stretch.

In 2013, Papali’i’s manager approached Parramatta saying the young prop was keen to play under then Eels coach, Ricky Stuart.

With his mother standing beside him, Papali’i signed a three-year deal with the Eels and he was set to leave the Raiders at the end of the 2013 season.

What followed was a merry-go-round of claim and counterclaim, with Papali’i seemingly locked in a tug-of-war for his services.

Raiders legend and Queensland coach Mal Meninga was called in to the ‘keep Josh Papali’i in Canberra campaign’.

As a journalist covering this story at the time, I found it hard to work out what was happening. There was talk of Papali’i declaring his allegiance to Canberra on the team bus at one stage, although this was hard to confirm.

It was a fascinating scenario with Ricky Stuart, a Raiders legend, coaching Parramatta, Papali’i in the middle, and Mal Meninga and the Raiders on the other side.

In fairness to Stuart, the Eels were approached by Papali’i’s manager in the first instance. Stuart apparently told Papali’i to let the Raiders know what was happening out of courtesy.

A circus doesn’t begin to describe the situation.

In the end, Papali’i turned his back on Parramatta’s three-year deal before the Round 13 cooling-off period, and he has been with the Raiders ever since.

Ironically, he is now coached by the man he has always wanted to be coached by – Ricky Stuart.

A few years later, Stuart was forced to apply some tough love when Papali’i returned from the Christmas break after playing for Samoa at the World Cup overweight and out of condition ahead of the 2018 NRL season.

At the time, Papali’i suggested the World Cup campaign was akin to a holiday camp.

Stuart persisted with him for the first four rounds in the hope that he might play his way back into fitness, but while playing okay, he looked sluggish at times.

In the lead-up to Round 5, he was dropped to the Mounties NSW Cup team.

The call obviously worked as he was back in the NRL team in Round 6 before going on to win the Mal Meninga Medal for the Raiders’ Best and Fairest Player.

He also won selection in the Queensland State of Origin team.

In the eyes of many, it was one of his best seasons for the Green Machine.

Then there was his declaration that he would take up boxing to fight Paul Gallen after Gallen accused Papali’i of a “dog shot” in a game against the Sharks in 2012.

That one-way feud, though, was short-lived as Gallen invited Papali’i to spar with him on the 2014 Kangaroo tour.

Papali’i’s dream of being a boxer came to fruition when he took on former Queensland prop Ben Hannant in an All-Stars Boxing event in Townsville in 2021.

Papali’i was scheduled to fight Melbourne giant Nelson Asofa-Solomonia before the Storm stepped in and withdrew Nelson from the bout.

Hannant stepped in at short notice and, with only four weeks of preparation, lost to Papali’i on points.

Papali’i has emerged as a genuine crowd favourite. His passion for his family is more significant than anything he achieves on the football field. This is coupled with a desire to be a leader in his community.

He has expressed an aspiration to join the priesthood once his football days are over. Thankfully, for Raiders fans, that won’t be for a couple of years.

Having interviewed Josh Papali’i many times over the years, I have found that he doesn’t give much away, preferring to let his actions on the footy field tell the story.

And what a story it has been.