NRL 2022 Round 1 Eels v Titans: The rise of Isaiah Papali’i from discard to the game’s best second-rower
No player has had a more dramatic 12 months than Isaiah Papali’i. The Eels star opens up on his new focus, the spotlight and the chat with an ‘upset’ Brad Arthur.
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Rewind to this time last year. Isaiah Papali’i was fighting for his NRL career.
He had been thrown a lifeline by the Eels on a two year deal worth $400,000 after being cast aside from the Warriors.
He managed to sneak on the Eels bench for their round one clash against Brisbane after a strong pre-season.
“This time last year I would’ve said (my goals were that) I wanted to start off on the bench and try and have an impact,” Papali’i said.
“We had a strong forward pack. I wanted to bring enthusiasm and make a difference.
“It’s different this year.”
Papali’i could not have said it any better. He enters this season as the Dally M second-rower of the year and Parramatta’s player of the season.
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The 23-year-old also landed a life-changing three-year, near-$2 million dollar deal to join the Wests Tigers next season.
Even Papali’i can not believe how fast things have changed.
“Now I want to play 80 minutes on the edge, play consistently and have an impact for the whole game and not go missing because I’m gassed,” Papali’i said.
The contract negotiations created headlines which was in total contrast to his low-key arrival to the Eels last off-season.
In the end, the Tigers offer was too tempting to knock back despite Parramatta’s hopes of keeping him.
“It wasn’t headlines for good reasons,” Papali’i said.
“There was a lot of thinking that had to happen during that period. I got it over and done with in the off-season so when I stepped inside the doors during pre-season I was fully focused on what was ahead of us.
“If you look back 12 months I was in a whole different boat. We look back on it and were pleased on the progression that had gone into 2021.
“It was surreal. As much as it was a tough time in terms of picking and choosing, it was something I preferred than what was happening previously
“The opportunity they gave me was something I couldn’t turn down. It was something I wanted to take a chance with. Rugby league is a short part of my life so I had to make the most of what I had in this time.”
The conversation with coach Brad Arthur was “short and sharp”. But Arthur made a point of addressing the team when they returned on the first day of pre-season after Papali’I, Reed Mahoney, Marata Niukore and Ray Stone pledged their futures elsewhere.
“I made sure I was on the first foot that he didn’t find out from other sources,” Papali’I said. “He was upset but he knew what I had to do and he supported my decision
“As soon as I got in, he pulled us in and said everyone knows everyone’s situation. We can’t do anything about it. Put it to the side and everyone in the Eels squad to be fully focused.”
Fitter, faster Fifita ready to follow Sonny Bill’s lead
- Travis Meyn
Maroons legend Gorden Tallis believes David Fifita is on the same career trajectory as international superstar Sonny Bill Williams as the Titans get set to unveil their new-look strike weapon against the Eels.
The NRL will see a fitter, faster and stronger Fifita when the Gold Coast kick off their quest for back-to-back finals appearances against Parramatta at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
It will be an intriguing season launch for the Titans, given most of their top-line players did not feature in a trial after their final hitout against the Warriors was abandoned due to Queensland’s flood crisis.
But one player ready to start the year on fire is Fifita, who looks worth every bit of his $3.5 million price tag.
After finishing last year out-of-shape and with a painful rib injury, Fifita has stripped down and is ready to build on his incredible 17-try debut season with the Titans.
And he is heading on the same path to superstardom as former Bulldogs, Roosters and All Blacks ace Williams, according to Broncos back-row great Tallis.
“There’s not too many backrowers who were ahead of him at 22,” said Tallis, a Titans ambassador.
“You’re talking about Sonny Bill Williams and those guys that have had a big impact on the game. Sonny Bill came into a side (Bulldogs) full of superstars playing in a grand final.
“At 22, he is definitely ahead of where I was as a player.
“There’s parts of the game Dave has to work on, like staying in the game and working hard on both sides of the football. That comes with experience.
“But he is an explosive player.”
Fifita made a highly-publicised move from the Brisbane Broncos to Titans last year after being lured by a club record $1.2 million salary for the 2021 season.
He came out of the blocks firing, scoring nine tries in the first seven rounds with brute force to become the most destructive forward in the game.
But Fifita’s form became patchy as the year went on, and he finished the season coming off the bench with a painful rib injury as the Titans made their first finals appearance since 2016.
Titans coach Justin Holbrook admitted Fifita’s fitness was not where it needed to be last year, but he had overhauled his body during his first injury-free pre-season.
“He does (look different), and it’s full credit to himself,” he said.
“He was really disappointed with how he finished the year. One, through injury and, two, he wasn’t happy with where his fitness was at.
“He’s got his weight down and is fitter, faster and stronger. He’s worked as hard as anyone else and I’m really looking forward to seeing him this year.
“The last two years he’s been in rehab for the pre-season. He’s had a great one this year and we’re looking forward to him and our team benefiting.”
Fifita showed glimpses of what he is capable off in a brief stint for the Indigenous All Stars, breaking three tackles in a run before being felled by a Jordan Rapana shoulder charge.
With his weight under control and a focus on increasing his involvements, Holbrook said the sky was the limit for the Gold Coast’s try-scoring weapon heading into his fifth NRL season.
“Last year he was a 21-year-old and the leading forward tryscorer, leading tackle busts – there were so many good things – but we want to focus on what he’s got to improve on,” he said.
“He’s just turned 22, so the upside in his game is in front of him, which is great for us.”
With a year under his belt at the Gold Coast, Tallis said Fifita would be more comfortable with his surroundings and now had to work on his combinations with new halves Toby Sexton and AJ Brimson, who could miss the Eels game with a groin injury.
“It took me a while to get combinations when I moved to a new team,” Tallis said.
“It took 18 months for me to get familiar with Kevvie (Kevin Walters at the Broncos). It’s a trust thing, that doesn’t tend to happen overnight.
“For the first part of the season last year, he was unbelievable and they probably don’t play finals footy without him. He scored a couple of hat-tricks. He was absolutely brilliant.
“Now he’s got new halves again. He should be settled at the club now and working on getting a combination with the new six and seven.”
In a blow for the Titans, winger Corey Thompson (hand) is expected to miss the Eels game and will be replaced by Greg Marzhew.
BROWN OPENS UP ON TROUBLED 2021
-Michael Carayannis
Some of the game’s biggest names have declared the Eels’ premiership drought will end this year, but much depends on the improvement of Dylan Brown.
The five-eighth described his last season as “very average”.
Off the field, the Parramatta five-eighth was distracted and he used the pre-season to work out why he struggled to focus on his football.
It is easy to forget as Brown heads into his fourth season he is still just 21. He has been a cornerstone of the Eels’ squad in recent years as they enter their 36th season chasing that elusive title.
“I was a bit all over the place,” Brown said. “Everyone knows I was disappointed in my season.
“A few personal things that I didn’t stay on top of, it ended up showing on the field. Having a few goals in place that keep you away from other distractions, that will help me a bit. I feel switched on. I felt like I’ve trained well. If you’re happy off the field, you’re happy on it.
“I have some goals on the field which include owning my role a bit more. I’ve said the same thing for the last few years but now it’s about putting it into action. I have to be more confident.
“I was a bit unsettled. I was all over the place. There were little things that were happening – there was nothing crazy, nothing at the end of the world.”
Brown took up a lucrative option – worth about $800,000 – to stay on at the Eels for at least until the end of 2023.
This year looms as a defining one, though, as he pushes for a long-term deal at the club.
His halves partner Mitchell Moses said their combination had improved heading into Parramatta’s round 1 clash against the Gold Coast Titans.
Only Manly’s halves pairing of Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran (193 games) have played more together at the scrumbase than Brown and Moses in the current NRL ranks.
Brown and Moses have played 48 times alongside each other ahead of premiership pairs Jahrome Hughes/Cameron Munster (45 matches) and Jarome Luai/Nathan Cleary (42 games).
“I feel like our connection is a lot better,” Moses said.
“This pre-season he has been unbelievable how fit he has come back. He is a lot more mature and has a lot more games under his belt now.
“You’re going to have those years – I have been there myself.
“He is a pretty relaxed kid. I don’t think it really affects him, that stuff.”
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