Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
"One of the best": Brandy's massive praise for Raider's cult hero
Sam Kosack • June 10th, 2025 3:37 pm
NRL legend Greg Alexander has saluted the career of Josh Papalii after the Raiders' prop broke the club record for most games played over the weekend.
Papalii led the Raiders out for his 319th game against the Rabbitohs on Sunday, breaking the record set by Jason Croker who retired in 2006.
Papalii has been a mainstay of the Raiders' forward pack over his incredible 15-season career which has included extensive representative honours for Queensland, Australia and Samoa.
The Raiders turned up emphatically for the giant of their club on a day where they desperately needed to, both for Papalii and in a big match with top four repercussions.
And Papalii got to be the hero of the day in front of 19,438 fans, scoring two tries and slotting a conversion in a moment that moved his coach of 15 seasons, Ricky Stuart, to tears.
Halfway through what is expected to be Papalii's final season in the NRL, Greg Alexander thinks Papalii will be remembered as a great of the game.
"He will go down as one of the best front rowers to play the game, without a doubt," Alexander said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
"He was the number one front rower for a 4-or-5-year period there, might have been a little bit longer.
"We interviewed (Ricky Stuart) on Fox League, and I said... he's also a try scorer... like he scored 65 tries.
"I know Papa (Papalii) started his career in the back row, played on an edge, but 65 tries, now 67 after he scored those two tries.
"He's clearly the best in the NRL era."
