NRL 2020: How Raiders landed game-breaker Joseph Tapine for a steal
Raiders fans can thank a phone call from former forward David Lomax to the club’s head of recruitment Peter Mulholland in 2013 for delivering the powerful lock-forward.
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A Raiders old boy and one of the game’s most respected talent scouts are responsible for signing Canberra’s X-factor for just $5000.
Joe Tapine, whose tearaway try against the Roosters drove the Raiders into a preliminary final against Melbourne on Friday night, used his 100th NRL appearance for the Green Machine to confirm his status as a world-class game-breaker.
And Raiders fans can thank a phone call from former forward David Lomax to the club’s head of recruitment Peter Mulholland in 2013 for delivering the powerful lock-forward.
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Lomax, a former Kiwi Test prop who spent time at the Raiders in 1994-95, was working as a teacher at the WelTec College in Wellington, New Zealand, when he phoned his former coach.
“When I was a coach (before moving into recruitment), I had Dave at Perth with the Western Reds and then Paris Saint-Germain with me, we’ve known each other a while,’’ Mulholland said. “So I‘ve always used him for spotting players in New Zealand.
“He called me and said: ‘I‘ve got a guy over here that is 16 and can play a bit.’
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“I went over to Rotorua and watched him play in the age championships and signed him. I went to sign Braden Uele (current Sharks forward) as well. But Uele hurt himself in a warm-up and I didn’t get to see him play — so I only left with Tapine on a small deal.”
In a twist of fate for Raiders fans, Mulholland was working with the Newcastle Knights at the time. Tapine followed Mulholland to the Knights, lasting two years under former coaches Rick Stone and Nathan Brown.
When Mulholland left the Knights to work for Canberra, Tapine, 26, soon followed, linking with the Raiders and Ricky Stuart in 2016.
“Mick Crawley (former Raiders assistant coach) had Joey when he was working at the Knights in the under-20s and he had a wrap on him as well,” Mulholland said. “That’s when we started talking about who we would like at the Raiders and Ricky said, ‘Let’s go get him’.
“Rick recognised a lot of ability in him and Mick Crawley was the one that pushed it as well.
“Joey probably doesn’t realise how much ability and talent he has.
“He has what we saw on Friday night in him and I was cheering just as hard as the next Raiders fan when he shoved and pushed past the defence to score that try.
“What Ricky has done here with this squad, to have players like Joey continue to mature despite so many players being out injured this year, is credit to the coach and his players.”
PAPALII TO TARGET THE ‘GOAT’
He’s the greatest hooker of all-time but don’t expect Raiders wrecking-ball Josh Papalii to hold back against Cameron Smith on Friday night.
Papalii has vowed to lead Canberra to back-to-back grand finals by running straight over Smith in the preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium, which doubles as potentially the Melbourne legend’s final game of his NRL career.
“Smith is the GOAT (greatest of all time),’’ Papalii said. “He is from the same region I am from in Logan and there are so many kids who look up to Smits. I am no different.
“A young Logan boy growing up. I used to idolise him until I started playing. To play with him and against him has been a dream come true.
“They will be tough on Friday, we have to get a good start and finish strong.
“I’ll try (to run over him), but he’s played over 400 games and he’s very experienced.”
Smith is expected to retire at season’s end with Friday’s preliminary final set to mark his final match at Suncorp Stadium, regardless of the result.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said he wouldn’t be getting caught up in the occasion — but conceded Smith deserved high praise.
“It’s not what he’s only done for the Storm, it’s what he has done for the game,’’ Stuart said. “I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Cameron and a number of greats as the Australian coach and it was a pleasure to coach him.
“But my week won’t be focused on Cameron Smith, it will be focused on the Canberra Raiders’ preparation.”
Glenn Lazarus, who won two premierships with Canberra and captained Melbourne to its first title in 1999, believes that while Smith may dwell on his impending retirement it won’t impact the Storm’s performance as a whole.
“It’ll be an incentive, but they won’t spend too much time on it,” Lazarus said.
“They’ll be more focused on how they stop Josh Papalii, Joseph Tapine, Jack Wighton and George Williams, who I think has really come of age.”
Canberra have won three of their past four against the Storm, including a pulsating 14-12 victory in the first week of the finals last season.
Lazarus spent time in camp with the Raiders in the lead up to the match and believes a match of similar quality is in the offing.
“What Ricky wanted was to have an idea of how I felt and how I remembered those wonderful times in the club’s history, that 1989-91 era.
“I didn’t give them too much information, Ricky knows what he’s doing and the players know what they’re doing, I just told them about a wonderful time in the club’s history.
“I think it’ll be one of the games of the year. I might have to get a half-Melbourne, half-Canberra jersey - I’ll come out a winner either way.”
Originally published as NRL 2020: How Raiders landed game-breaker Joseph Tapine for a steal