Josh Papalii left out by Raiders in surprise Round 8 team list announcements

Raiders star Josh Papalii has been given a wake up call by coach Ricky Stuart while the Broncos and Cowboys have done the same thing.

Josh Papalii of the Maroons.

Raiders wrecking ball Josh Papalii has been “rested” by coach Ricky Stuart in an extraordinary wake up call for the international representative.

Papalii was the big ommission from the Raiders side when they announced their team to face the Rabbitohs on Thursday night.

The 28-year-old has paid a high price for Canberra’s surprise loss to the Cowboys last week.

“Papa needs to go back and find the old Papa, because we’re all missing it,” Stuart told Fox Sports.

“We’re going to rest him and give him some game time off. We fully support him and we know he’ll be back to the old Papa soon.”

In a further shake-up to the Raiders, co-captain Jarrod Croker has also been ruled out for up to a fortnight with a shoulder injury.

The Tigers have also made a series of selection changes with star centre Joseph Leilua earning a re-call to the team.

Josh Papalii was not at his best against the Cowboys.

The Broncos have also been forced into another halves-pairing shake-up with Anthony Milford being re-called from reserve grade. Coach Kevin Walters has dumped Tom Dearden and Brodie Croft — less than a month after he turned to them to save the club’s season.

Instead, Walters has backflipped to return to Milford at five-eighth while rolling the dice on back-up halfback Tyson Gamble.

Walters was forced to make another change to his halves after Croft and Dearden failed to provide a spark during the team’s 46-6 loss to Parramatta in Round 7.

It gives Milford one final chance to save his career at the Broncos with the 26-year-old out of contract at the end of 2021.

The much-maligned No. 6 has been given a deadline to prove he is worthy of a new contract with the Broncos and Walters has given him that opportunity after three weeks in reserve grade.

Meanwhile, Cronulla star Josh Dugan has been dropped and has been replaced by former Queensland State of Origin star Will Chambers, who will make his debut for the Sharks in his first NRL appearance since 2019.

The Cowboys have also welcomed back superstar Jason Taumalolo.

Originally published as Josh Papalii left out by Raiders in surprise Round 8 team list announcements