They finished 15th that season - Papalii s first in the NRL.
Drawing on those hard times, the veteran prop is adamant the Raiders can salvage their 2021 campaign after five consecutive defeats.
With influential hooker Josh Hodgson set to return from a calf injury for Saturday s Magic Round clash with the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium, Papalli said the mood in Canberra s camp remains upbeat. I ve been at the club when we weren t travelling too well and we only had six-to-eight thousand in the crowd, Papalii said, with captain Jarrod Croker, Jack Wighton and Sam Williams in the same boat. Sharing our experience – there s good footy ahead.
With the Raiders nosediving after four straight losses and the players craving sunnier locales like Bradford, the euphoric days in Canberra of grand finals and tormenting Melbourne are starting to feel like a distant memory. Inevitable questions have been raised in the nation’s capital in the wake of the Raiders’ recent slump, with the dire […]
Raiders: Prop Josh Papalii makes a welcome return from a week off to refresh mentally .
Halfback George Williams is also back after he was a late scratching in warm-up last week due to a hamstring strain but Josh Hodgson (calf) and Jarrod Croker (shoulder) have had their returns delayed by at least a week.
Sebastian Kris (ankle) has been named in the centres despite fears he had suffered a syndesmosis injury against the Rabbitohs and will have to be cleared to take his place.
Ryan James and Dunamis Lui were dropped from the 21-man squad 24 hours out from kick-off.
The Raiders have been outscored 69-8 in their past four second halves.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is confident English stars George Williams and Josh Hodgson will stay next season despite the intense scrutiny around them in recent days.
After the Green Machine crashed to a fourth consecutive loss against South Sydney last week, it has emerged that Williams has told the club he s homesick, while Hodgson had stood down as co-captain before suffering a calf injury three weeks ago.
The revelations have sparked interest in Hodgson from other NRL clubs, while Williams has been linked with Wigan and Warrington but Stuart said on Friday that he was expecting both to remain in Canberra.