‘Thought that was me’: Papalii’s ankle fears revealed
Jacob Shteyman |
Canberra icon Josh Papalii was preparing for retirement after thinking he broke his ankle just as the Raiders were stepping up their NRL finals preparations.
Despite speculation among the rival Brisbane camp that the star forward’s injury was a ploy concocted by coach Ricky Stuart as some sort of mental warfare, Papalii revealed he feared for the worst after collapsing at training earlier in September.
Ahead of a do-or-die semi-final against Cronulla on Saturday, the 33-year-old is using the experience as motivation.
“Every time I come into training I try and enjoy every day, because I just don’t know when it’s my last,” Papalii told AAP.
“When I did my ankle injury, I thought that was me. I actually thought I broke my ankle. And to be honest, I probably would have retired if it was broken, but glad I pulled through and am still kicking.”
The injury was hardly the preparation Papalii was hoping for ahead of the Raiders’ crucial qualifying final against the in-form Broncos.
“A lot of thoughts were going through my head. I wanted to play the Broncos, I wanted to play finals – a grand final – but obviously put the team first,” he said.
Papalii’s ankle was still a little purple and swollen on Wednesday afternoon, but significantly improved from the previous week.
Ahead of the game on Sunday, the injury was still giving him discomfort.
“But honestly, you take that many anti-inflams, and you’ve iced it, you’ve strapped it, done everything I could to be prepared for the game, so I couldn’t back out a couple minutes before the game,” Papalii said.
Despite losing a remarkable 94-minute contest 29-28, the veteran still managed to get through a mountain of work in his 51-minute stint, running for 100 metres and notching two offloads and two tackle busts against a Brisbane forward pack that included Payne Haas.
Papalii says Haas is one of the top three props going around at the moment.
The other two? Raiders captain Joseph Tapine, who sealed a fourth straight Meninga Medal for Raiders player of the year on Monday, and Addin Fonua-Blake, who he will line up against on Saturday.
“To play against one one week and then the other one the following week, it’s definitely a challenge I like taking head-on – and I know Joseph will be up for this one as well,” Papalii said.
The Raiders talisman is too modest to include himself in that list, but it goes without saying.
The Queensland State of Origin representative overtook Jason Croker this season to become Canberra’s most-capped player, and was handed a Raiders life membership on Monday.
Croker and fellow Raiders legend Jarrod Croker were also anointed life members, but Papalii became the first person to receive the honour while still playing for the club – an indication of his legendary status in the nation’s capital.
Despite his injury scare, a one-year contract extension Papalii sealed last Friday means retirement is now a far-off prospect.
For now his focus is solely on Saturday’s game.
“If we keep dwelling on the Broncos game, then we might as well give the Sharks the win,” Papalii said.
“This group has too much talent and too much footy to let that slip.”
AAP
