Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

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greeneyed
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Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by greeneyed »

Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Dead set. How good is Josh Papalii! Also, how good is Josh Papalii? And where does he sit in the Canberra Raiders pecking order of the past 20 years? He's certainly impressed Raiders legend Glenn Lazarus.

"He'd certainly be in the running. My brain isn't that good anymore so I can't remember who was playing, but at the end of the day he's playing wonderfully well," Lazarus said. "That was as good a front-row display that you'll ever see [on Thursday night].

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by casta66 »

I was just reading an article about him, thinking how good he is, when that topic notification came through! Haha

1. Look how many Mal Meninga medals he's won

2. Look at his representative record compared to other players in that time.

3. Most importantly. To those who were at the GF last year. Remember the cheering in the green section for each player as they were announced? Remember who had the biggest cheer by far?

I can't remember a prop ever being such a fan favourite. Especially not in our club.
So a yes from me.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by zim »

Just imagine what a world we'd be in if he'd signed with Parra.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by afgtnk »

Not the most influential I don't think. I daresay that probably goes to Hodgo, by virtue of his position on the field and leadership ability.

Best forward of the past 20 years though? Yes.

Best forward in our history? Think he will be unanimously by the time he's done.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by -PJ- »

Papa is a very special human.

Imagine the vibe in the change rooms before games knowing Papa is there..

Inspirational leader, fantastic, world class forward.

He's the man..

A yes from me.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by 89_90_94_?? »

My first born will be named Josh, boy or girl.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Horace Dove-Edwin »

Yes.

I'd have Ruben Wiki in 2nd place if you make it 25 years.

Everything he does is of the highest standard.

Honest in performance on field and in driving infringements.

Doesn't get involved in dirty play.

All round good guy.



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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by zim »

I'm not planning to have children. But I could adopt a little Josh Papalii for sure.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by GMGT »

I think you've gotta say him and hodgo are on par for this topic.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by GreenMachine »

Papalli, Wiki and Clyde for mine.
All in the same boat.
Legendary forwards.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

Horace Dove-Edwin wrote:Yes.

I'd have Ruben Wiki in 2nd place if you make it 25 years.

Everything he does is of the highest standard.

Honest in performance on field and in driving infringements.

Doesn't get involved in dirty play.

All round good guy.



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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Raiders666 »

Future Immortal
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Lui_Bon »

Until Josh wins a GF, it will be Bradley Clyde. And even then I would be waiting for Josh to win a Clive.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Ruben Daley »

Lui_Bon wrote: July 18, 2020, 12:17 am Until Josh wins a GF, it will be Bradley Clyde. And even then I would be waiting for Josh to win a Clive.
Yeah, Clyde is going to be very hard to beat ever.

Josh is the most influential of the post-Glory Days. Papa is the best forward of that era and top two all-time.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by BadnMean »

The subject was past 20 years, which still includes the Wiki era.

That gives us 3 contenders- Hodgo, Wiki and Papa. Hard to split.

Wiki made us competitive and was an inspirational leader but was a cog in our most succesful teams, not the driving force. Later on he commanded huge respect (deservedly) but it'd be hard to argue he led a resurgence into a premiership force ever again. So I'll leave him in 3rd.

Papa is our best prop since Lazo. Our best forward since Wiki. Easy stuff. Influential... Probably yes. I just feel that if we'd lost him to Parra, we wouldn't be resurgent today. He does the relentless, grinding, necessary but so reliable it's almost unnoticed work of a Lazarus but has that special ability to also explode and score tries. Huge tries. In huge games. Bashing through great players. His amazing output and results we can almost take for granted but having a prop who ALSO scores crunch tries to rescue the team through and does it on the regular... it's unheard of.

Hodgo. Hodgo was when we really started to turn around. He was key to everything. We'd had Papa in the team and still struggled. Phenomenal player but he hadn't -yet- grown into the dominant leader a Wiki or even Sia was.
Honestly we were kind of drifting along hoping but flailing and getting not very far. Something about Hodgo's drive, personality and ambition began to shift things. Higher standards. Demanding level of performance. Delivering skills that saw him ranked (by some, even briefly) as better than future immortal Smith over the last couple of years.

You could argue it was a double act with Whitehead that did it. You'd be right. But if we had Whitehead alone or Hodgo alone who would have made the difference? Hard to say but I'd venture Hodgo.

So I'm hedging. I can't split Papa or Hodgo. Papa wheels away doing his thing every week, leading by example and standing up to whoever is the hot name prop of the day and usually getting the team over them. Then they fade and Papa is still Papa. But Hodgo reaches levels of genius at times and something about the place changed when he burst through the door here. This bloke was going to succeed and was capable of lifting everyone around him. The fact he just so clearly became the captain, the leader of the team on the field speaks volumes. Hopefully Papa leads us to glory this year while Hodgo is out and settles that one for me but right now, I have them even.


Previous it was probably Clyde and Lazzo pretty close. But we won in 1994 without Lazzo, never won again without Clyde. In a virtual match up CLyde wins 51/100 times.- edit, speaking just about forwards in this last para.
Last edited by BadnMean on July 21, 2020, 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Love4Noa »

Sutton Bakery probably thinks so. The dude looks like he loves a pie.

I would probably put Papalii as the most influential in big moments and games.
Hodgson as a playmaker.
Wiki for pure emotion.
Whitehead for me is the best "general player across 80 minutes" that we've had for decades.

How he isn't talked about as a Raiders great is beyond me. He should be bronzed, naturalised, given a big house on a hill. He should also be captain in absence of Hodgson.

Dude. Is. A. Legend.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by The Nickman »

Yes
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Northern Raider »

The Nickman emerges!
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Timbo »

BadnMean wrote: July 18, 2020, 11:39 am The subject was past 20 years, which still includes the Wiki era.

That gives us 3 contenders- Hodgo, Wiki and Papa. Hard to split.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Matt »

When he hangs up the boots, and people think of the Raiders, it will be Mal, quickly followed by Big Papa.

Mal played at 6 foot 107kgs
Papa is apparently 6 foot 112kgs (Id say thats generous ATM)

The cut very similar figures, yet 1 played centre, the other is potentially going to end up the best prop of his generation.

So, in short, yes.
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Hong Kong Raider »

If it's the last 20 years, definitely Papa. Clyde falls outside that period.

Most influential (not necessarily the best) of all time: in chronological order

Chris O'Sullivan, Dean Lance, Mal, Gary Belcher, Clyde, Ricky, Laurie, Wiki, Papa, Hodgson

Hoping to add Jack in late October when he wins his 2nd Churchill medal and we are crowned premiers
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by Raiders666 »

he is Top 3 with Jason Croker and Wiki..
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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by CJ42 »

Who can honestly say he hasn’t been one of their favorite raiders basically since he debuted? Absolutely love big Papa.


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Re: Is Josh Papalii the most influential Canberra Raiders player in the past 20 years?

Post by CJ42 »

Love4Noa wrote:Sutton Bakery probably thinks so. The dude looks like he loves a pie.

I would probably put Papalii as the most influential in big moments and games.
Hodgson as a playmaker.
Wiki for pure emotion.
Whitehead for me is the best "general player across 80 minutes" that we've had for decades.

How he isn't talked about as a Raiders great is beyond me. He should be bronzed, naturalised, given a big house on a hill. He should also be captain in absence of Hodgson.

Dude. Is. A. Legend.
Whitehead is criminally underrated, he’s literally got everything in his game and he never drops off over 80 minutes. Remember him making 40-50 tackles in his first game here in sweltering heat and he hasn’t taken a backwards step.


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