Milestone Papalii double lifts Raiders over Souths
Jacob Shteyman |
Josh Papalii scored a fairytale double as he became the most-capped player in Canberra history and lifted the Raiders to a gritty come-from-behind win over South Sydney.
Chants of “Papa” rang through GIO Stadium after the Raiders legend’s two late tries, and rose to a crescendo as Papalii converted his second himself, to put the icing on a 36-12 victory and send the Raiders to the top of the NRL ladder.
“I’m so happy for him because the boys did it for him,” coach Ricky Stuart said.
“I know what Joe (Tapine) done this week to get those boys ready to play for Josh.
“He’s more of a mate than a guy I coach.”
Despite the veteran’s late show, it was young five-eighth Ethan Strange who was responsible for turning the day around for the home side, after two early Rabbitohs tries for Keaon Koloamatangi and Alex Johnston threatened to rain on Big Papa’s parade.
Strange was unstoppable in wet and near-freezing conditions that made handling a tricky task.
Canberra looked bereft of ideas until the 20-year-old stepped up just before halftime and showed why he is one of the best running halves in the league.
After receiving the ball from halves partner Jamal Fogarty, Strange muscled past four Rabbitohs to find the tryline.
He replicated his effort soon after the break, jinking past more flat-footed defenders to put the Raiders back level.
Soon after, Johnston failed to defuse a Jamal Fogarty bomb and back-rower Zac Hosking cleaned up the scraps to send Canberra ahead.
The Raiders grew in confidence and doubled their lead through Simi Sasagi before Papalii, who was given a rare start by Stuart in his 319th game, came on for his second stint.
In the 70th minute, the 19,438-strong crowd that braved the miserable conditions was sent into raptures when hooker Owen Pattie sent Papalii over from short range.
Three minutes later the veteran went over again from another Pattie pass and stepped up to land the conversion.
“That’ll be a memory that we all will probably never forget,” Stuart said.
An emotional Papalii choked back tears as he thanked the fans for their support after the game.
“I love this club with all my heart and the fans turning out, so loyal in this kind of weather,” he told Fox Sports after the game.
Earlier, Canberra’s dream day looked like turning into a nightmare when Koloamatangi crashed through to put Souths ahead in the fifth minute and press his case to replace the injured Mitch Barnett for NSW in State of Origin II.
Ten minutes later, the influential Cody Walker, on his return from a calf injury, spotted Xavier Savage squeezing up off the wing and lobbed a ball over to the ever-prolific Johnston to notch his 201st career try.
It came just after the Raiders suffered a major loss, with their revelation of the season Savelio Tamale limping from the field in howling pain.
Stuart said it was likely to be a dislocated kneecap, which could keep the youngster out for a matter of months and cruel the starlet’s hopes of claiming the Dally M rookie of the year award.
Souths later lost Walker to a groin injury, and from then on struggled to make an impact going forward.
The Raiders went top with the result, though Canterbury could usurp them when they face Parramatta on Monday.
Other than a brief moment in round two of 2024, it’s the first time Canberra have topped the ladder since round six in 2005.
AAP
