Josh Papalii spent $5000 on NRL grand final tickets for relatives
After Canberra beat South Sydney, the requests started flooding in. And after opening his wallet, Josh Papalii will have his own cheer squad of “long lost cousins” for Sunday’s grand final.
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Josh Papalii has forked out more than $5000 to buy grand final tickets for “long lost cousins” the Canberra forward didn’t know he had.
The Raiders’ big man said ticket requests from family members for Sunday’s grand final against the Sydney Roosters flooded in after he scored the matchwinning try in the preliminary final against South Sydney.
“I have heaps of cousins back in Logan in Brisbane, a few in Sydney, a few in Melbourne. But after making the grand final all these long lost cousins have appeared. Everyone has been telling me how we’re cousins now all of a sudden,” Papalii said.
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The Papalii support crew won’t be in the nosebleed section at ANZ Stadium.
The Queensland Maroons prop has ensured those who mean most to him will watch the biggest game of his career from the best seats in the house.
“I had to get an extra 14 tickets on top of the six free tickets that I’m getting,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “They cost me heaps, I think they were around $380 each. They were the ‘diamond’ tickets. I had to though because my family and my best mates are coming down. I’m happy to do it. You never know when your next grand final is, this might be my one and only grand final.”
LISTEN! In the season finale, Matty Johns is joined by James Hooper and Paul Kent to go over this Sunday’s grand final, plus how the build-up to the NRL’s biggest weekend can weigh on the favoured team (and how the Roosters are counteracting it).
Papalii also invited his father, Patrick, to rugby league’s night of nights, the Dally M Awards in Sydney on Wednesday night.
The Logan Brothers junior wanted to share the night with his dad as a ‘thank you’ for all the sacrifices his parents made so he could play rugby league.
“My missus couldn’t come because she has work early on Thursday morning, she didn’t want to go to the trouble of driving back to Canberra to try to make work,” Papalii said.
“So she said I should take my old man who has been there from the start, because of the sacrifices he had to make over all the years trying to make a future for me and my siblings.
“He has only ever watched it on TV and I finally got to take him so we were able to enjoy what I have achieved together. It was a special time for both of us. He had a few wines and enjoyed his time.”
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And Patrick, who has his son’s measure for size, enjoyed the black-tie event in Sydney’s east in a flashy new suit, which according to the grand final prop, took two hours to find because of his dad’s rotund physique.
“We went to M.J Bale, who are suiting me and my dad up. He’s never seen the flashy suits before. He tried this one jacket on the button broke. He just tried to button the jacket up but it was a bit tight and the button flew off across the room,” Papalii laughed.
Originally published as Josh Papalii spent $5000 on NRL grand final tickets for relatives
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