It was a season to remember for Raiders powerhouse forward Josh Papalii, as he re-claimed his Queensland Origin jersey through a string of outstanding performances at club level for the Green Machine.
Papalii returned to his best form this season, with his dominant edge running and brutal defence showing why he is amongst the game’s elite players.
Papalii played in all 24 matches for the Raiders in 2015, averaging 10 runs per game for an average of 9m per run. He also averaged 28 tackles per game, with 21 off-loads, 43 tackle-breaks and 6 line-breaks for the season.
His combination with Sam Williams was definitely a potent one for the Raiders during the season, with Papalii picking up a double against the Knights at home thanks to some good work between Papalii and Raiders halfback.
One of the most memorable moments for Papalii came in the clubs match against the Broncos in round 12, when he pulled off one of the bellringers of the season against Bronco prop Josh Maguire. The thud could be heard around GIO Stadium, as Papalii legitimately flattened Maguire much to the delight of the parochial home fans.
With the arrival of Elliott Whitehead to the club in 2016 its shapes up as a big season for the clubs back row stocks, with Papalii, Whitehead, Sia Soliola and Jarrad Kennedy all in the frontline for a spot in the starting team for round one.
Statistics:
Matches |
Runs |
Metres |
Tackles |
Tries |
Try Assists |
Tackle Breaks |
Offloads |
Line Breaks |
24 |
250 |
2355 |
690 |
8 |
2 |
43 |
21 |
6 |
