Josh Papalii
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Josh Papali'i (born 13 May 1992) is a professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer who plays as a for the
Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
in the
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
(NRL). He has played for both Australia and
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
at international level. He has played at representative level for the
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
and
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
in the
State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...
.


Background

Papali'i was born in
Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, and is of Samoan heritage. He moved to Australia at the age of 5 and was raised in
Woodridge, Queensland Woodridge is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Woodridge had a population of 12,579 people. Woodridge was home to a major timber reserve. Geography Booran is a neighbourhood with the subur ...
. He played his junior rugby league for Logan Brothers before being signed by the
Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
. Papali'i played 20 matches for Raiders National Youth Competition side between 2010 and 2011. In 2010 Papalii represented the Queensland under 18 side and was selected in the
Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...
' training squad, although he did not make the final side.


Playing career


2011

In Round 10, Papali'i made his
NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
debut for the
Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
against the
Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
off the interchange bench in the Raiders 20–12 win at AAMI Park. In Round 14 against the
Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...
, Papali'i showed a promising performance in his young first grade career scoring two tries back to back to help lead a Raiders comeback, coming from 24–0 down to level the game 24–24, before losing in extra time 25–24 at
Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
. Papali'i finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 14 matches and scoring 3 tries. In October 2011, Papali'i was selected for the Junior Kiwis.


2012

In September, Papalii pledged his representative allegiance to Queensland and Australia. Papalii finished the
2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...
with him playing in all the Raiders 26 matches and scoring 7 tries. In December 2012, Papalii was named in Queensland's Emerging Origin Squad.


2013

On 23 February 2013, the
Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
signed Papalii on a three-year deal from the start of 2014, but later, on 8 March 2013, Papalii pulled out the Eels contract and re-signed a further 3 years with the Raiders to 2016 to remain close to family and friends. Papalii first gained selection for the Maroons for Game 2 of the
2013 State of Origin series The 2013 State of Origin series was the 32nd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It was the first series to be administered by the ...
, playing off the interchange bench in the Maroons 26–6 win at
Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
. Papalii continued into Game 3, helping Queensland extend their record for consecutive series victories to eight. On 31 August 2013, Papalii and fellow Canberra Raiders team-mate
Anthony Milford Anthony Milford (born 11 July 1994) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Dolphins in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby Le ...
were fined by the club for an alleged drinking incident two days before the Raiders 50–16 loss to the
New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
at
Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...
in Round 25. Papalii finished the
2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
with him playing in 21 NRL matches and scoring 3 tries for the Raiders. On 29 September 2013, Papalii played for
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
, starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 50–10 win in
Kokopo Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of ...
. Papalii earned selection in the Australia 24-man squad for the 2013 World Cup, playing in 4 matches and scoring 2 tries. Papalii made his international debut for Australia against Fiji, starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 34–2 win at
Langtree Park Totally Wicked Stadium is a rugby league stadium in the Peasley Cross area of St. Helens. Known as Langtree Park until 2017, it has a capacity of over 18,000 and is the home ground of St Helens R.F.C. The stadium was granted full planning perm ...
. Papalii played off the interchange bench in Australia's 34–2 World Cup Final victory over
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
at Old Trafford. On 18 October 2013, Papalii was robbed by 2 men at a
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
nightclub ATM and had around £200 (about $385 in Australian Dollars) stolen from him.


2014

Papalii was selected for the
Queensland Maroons The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales in the State of O ...
team for Game 1 in the 100th State of Origin match at
Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
off the interchange bench in the Maroons 12–8 loss. On 12 June, Papalii was involved in a road rage incident after he threw a one-litre bottle of moisturising cream at another motorist, who subsequently insisted on a public apology. The NRL club agreed to pay for the damage caused to the car of University of Canberra staff member Michael Tutalo, but said his lengthy list of demands, which included a face-to-face apology in front of the '' Canberra Times'' building in
Fyshwick Fyshwick () is a retail and light industrial suburb of Canberra, Australia, east of the South Canberra district. At the , Fyshwick had a population of 56. It has many motor vehicle dealers, stores selling home furnishings and hardware, and sto ...
, were too much. The pair became involved in a heated exchange after Papalii allegedly cut off Mr Tutalo as he drove along Belconnen Way in
Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
. Papalii finished the
2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Lea ...
with him playing in 19 matches and scoring 3 tries for the Raiders. On 12 October 2014, Papalii played for
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
, starting at prop in the 34–16 win in Kokopo. On 14 October 2014, Papalii was selected for Australia in their 2014 Four Nations 24-man squad. Papalii played in 4 matches and scored a try in tournament. Papalii played off the interchange bench and scored a try in the Kangaroos 22–18 Four Nations final loss over
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
at
Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situ ...
.


2015

In July 2015, Papalii earned a recall to the Queensland squad for the Game 3 decider against
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. He played off the interchange bench and scored a try in the record 52–6 win at
Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
. In Round 22 against the
Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
, Papalii played his 100th NRL game in the Raiders 20–18 loss at
Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports ven ...
. He finished off 2015 having played in all the Raiders' 24 games and scored 8 tries. On 8 September, Papalii was named the 2015
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
train-on squad but was later ruled out due to injury. On 20 November, he re-signed with the Raiders on a 3-year contract to the end of the 2018 season.


2016

On 6 May 2016, Papalii played for Australia against
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, starting at second-row in the 16–0 win at
Hunter Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newcast ...
. For the 2016 State of Origin series, Papalii played in Game 1 and Game 2 off the interchange bench for the Maroons in their 2–1 series win. Papalii finished the
2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...
with him playing in 25 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Raiders. On 19 September 2017, Papalii and Raiders hooker
Josh Hodgson Joshua Hodgson (born 31 October 1989) is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He has played for the England Knights, England and Great Britain at international level. He has previously ...
were named as the dual winners of the Raiders 2016 Player of the Year Mal Meninga Medal. On 4 October 2016, Papalii was selected in the Kangaroos 2016 Four Nations 24-man squad. Later on, 13 October 2016, Papalii withdrew himself from the squad due an ankle injury and was replaced by Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles player
Jake Trbojevic Jake Trbojevic (born 18 February 1994) also known as “Jurbo” is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. Trbojevic has playe ...
.


2017

On 27 April 2017, Papalii was stood down by the Raiders for 1 match and the Kangaroos for the
2017 ANZAC Test The 2017 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Canberra Stadium. It was the 18th and last Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997 ...
after he was convicted of drink-driving after he bizarrely called triple 000 twice to report himself driving erratically in the early hours of 15 January 2017. The court heard Papalii was sprung after police received an anonymous triple-0 call to report a black Jeep driving on the wrong side of the road in
Gungahlin The District of Gungahlin () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The Gungahlin Region is one of fastest growing regions within Australia. The district is subdivided into div ...
about 2.15am and police got a second call to say the same car had pulled over near Hungry Jacks about 20 minutes later, officers approached the vehicle on a bike path on Gundaroo Drive soon after and asked Papalii, who was in the driver's seat, to get out of the car. They noticed he had bloodshot, watery eyes, his speech was slurred and he had the hiccups. Papalii was taken to the sobering up shelter. Police later discovered the emergency calls had been made from Papalii's phone. They said he told them he'd made the triple zero calls "to make a point". Papalii had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.123 just hours after he left the engagement party of Raiders captain
Jarrod Croker Jarrod Keith Croker (born 11 September 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who is the captain and goal-kicking for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL. He has played his entire career to date with Canberra, with whom he b ...
. Despite being dumped from the Kangaroos, Papalii would later feature in all 3 matches for Queensland in the 2017 State of Origin series where they won the series 2–1. Papalii finished the
2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...
with him playing in 20 matches and scoring 5 tries for the Raiders. On 6 October 2017, after missing selection for the Kangaroos for the
2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...
, Papalii was selected in the 24-man squad for
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
to honour his grandfather who died while he was in camp with the
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
squad, which he pulled out of the match to spend time with family. Papalii would play and start at second-row in all 4 matches for Samoa in their disappointing campaign.


2018

In Round 1 against the
Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...
, Papalii played his 150th NRL career match in the 30–28 loss at
Robina Stadium Robina Stadium, also known by its sponsored name Cbus Super Stadium, is a rectangular football stadium in the Gold Coast suburb of Robina, Queensland. The main usage is as the home ground to the National Rugby League's Gold Coast Titans; t ...
. On 3 April 2018, Papalii was dropped to reserve grade by coach Ricky Stuart along with fellow Canberra player
Blake Austin Blake Austin (born 1 February 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leeds Rhinos in the Betfred Super League. Austin previously played for the Warrington Wolves ( Heritage № 1147), Canberra Raiders, Penrit ...
after a tough opening month to the competition where Canberra lost their opening 4 games. In April 2018 he was caught bagging out the current coach Ricky Stuart “worst coach ever”. On 31 May 2018, Papalii spoke to the media about his shock axing to reserve grade saying "Our team wasn't going too well at the time and I knew someone had to go back. Sticky thought it should be me. I copped it on the chin, found some form and I'm happy that I've come back and played some decent footy. On 15 June 2018, Papalii extended his contract with the Raiders on a 4-year deal until the end of 2022. Papalii was again selected for the Queensland Maroons for the
2018 State of Origin series The 2018 State of Origin series was the 37th State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Q ...
, playing in all 3 matches in the Maroons 2–1 series loss. Papalii finished the
2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...
with him playing in 22 matches and scoring 5 tries for the Raiders. On 11 September 2018, Papalii was received the
Mal Meninga Malcolm Norman Meninga (; born 8 July 1960) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the fin ...
Medal for being the Raiders Best Player of the Year.


2019

Papalii was selected to play for Queensland in the
2019 State of Origin series The 2019 State of Origin series was the 38th annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 21 times, NSW 14 times, with two series drawn. For just the second t ...
which New South Wales won 2–1. Papalii featured in all 3 matches. In Round 22 of the
2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...
against Melbourne, Papalii scored the winning try as Canberra came from 18-0 down to win 22–18 at AAMI Park. It was also the first time since 2015 that Melbourne had lost 2 games in a row at their home stadium. In the preliminary final against South Sydney, Papalii scored the winning try as Canberra reached their first grand final in 25 years after defeating Souths 16–10 at
Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports ven ...
. Papalii played at prop for Canberra in the
2019 NRL Grand Final The 2019 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2019 National Rugby League season and was played at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between defending premiers the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra Ra ...
as they were defeated 14-8 by the
Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
at
ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand * ...
. On 7 October, Papalii was named in the Australian side for the upcoming
Oceania Cup The Oceania Cup is an international men's field hockey competition organised by Oceania Hockey Federation (OHF). It is held every two years to determine which teams will receive an automatic berth to the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and Summer Olymp ...
fixtures.


2020

Papalii had another outstanding season in 2020 for Canberra and was rewarded with his fourth Meninga Medal, this time sharing the award with
Jack Wighton Jack Wighton (born 4 February 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and Australia at international level. He has played at representative level for the Indigenous All ...
as they finished atop the voting for the club's player of the year. He played a total of 22 games and featured in all three of the club's finals matches as the club reached the preliminary final but were defeated by Melbourne.


2021

In round 10 of the
2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...
, he was sent off for an illegal shoulder charge during Canberra's 20–18 victory over Canterbury-Bankstown. He made a total of 20 appearances in the 2021 NRL season for Canberra which saw the club finish in 10th place on the table.


2022

Papali'i played a total of 25 matches for Canberra in the
2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...
as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Papali'i played in both finals matches as Canberra were eliminated in the second week by
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
. In October Papali'i was named in the Samoa squad for the
2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £ ...
.Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
/ref>


Personal life

Earlier in his career Papali'i contemplated becoming a priest and is now reportedly a "committed Christian". In 2013, Papalii was a youth leader at his Christian church in Canberra conducting weekly bible studies. In 2020, he refused the NRL's mandated flu vaccination based on a claim that his refusal was due to his religious beliefs.


References


External links


Canberra Raiders profile2017 RLWC profileSamoa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papali'i, Josh 1992 births Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Australia national rugby league team players Samoa national rugby league team players Prime Minister's XIII players Canberra Raiders players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Junior Kiwis players Rugby league locks Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Auckland People from Queensland New Zealand emigrants to Australia Living people Rugby league players from Logan, Queensland