Josh Papali'i relishing Maroons' State of Origin recall against Blues in series decider
The 33-year-old was in hospital with wife Mesepa and baby son Jeremiah when Maroons coach Billy Slater called to ask if he wanted to make a 24th and final Origin appearance.
"I missed the first couple of calls because my little fella and my wife were still in hospital at the time and there were a few complications with my little one," Papali'i said.
"I spoke to Bill when I had that little break and he asked me one question, if I had one more game in me, and I replied with an 'F-bomb' and said, 'Yes, I had one more left'.
"Hopefully I can go out there next week and put on a good performance."
Papali'i last played for the Maroons in 2022 and had retired from representative football.
He is playing his final season in Canberra this year and has been in career-best form.
The Maroons are looking for extra punch in the middle for the Origin decider in Sydney on July 9 and Papali'i was the obvious choice for one last hurrah.
"It's definitely my last. I'm obviously just looking forward to it and soaking in the week," Papali'i said.
"I'm still buzzing just being back in maroon. I just need to work hard and turn up next week and hopefully perform.
"I was happily retired. I was happy to just slug away down in Canberra. We're going pretty well down in the capital as well.
"When I saw the first couple of missed calls (from Slater), I just didn't know what to expect. And obviously I spoke to Bill and it's very nice to be back."
ABC Sport will have live blog coverage of the State of Origin series.
In camp on the Sunshine Coast with the Maroons squad, Papali'i was as refreshed on Thursday as he had ever been in recent times.
"It's the best sleep I've had in a few weeks," Papali'i grinned.
"Last night was good. I had one of the boys come and wake me up."
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The Advertiser
31 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
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The Advertiser
32 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
SCG curator confident about ground, hits out at critics
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"The first thing we do is turn off commentary because we know that they are just trying to create a story, but it hits hard. "Look, I think its (commentary) been over the top, I really think its been blown out of proportion, not just for me I can handle it, but for my team. "I've got a young team that's set a really high standard and they take pride in where they work at the SCG and they are putting in 110 per cent. "And the ill-informed information that's been piled on in social media, it's just unjust and it's not good. "These guys have got to understand my guys are humans and they don't need to be bashed." Asked if he anticipated any ongoing issues over the remainder of the season, Lewis said: "We're very confident we will be right for the rest of the year." AFL CEO Andrew Dillon told SEN he wasn't happy with the surface for last week's game. "The ground was absolutely safe but it wasn't at the level we expect," Dillon said. 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News.com.au
37 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Oh Too Good becomes social media sensation ahead of Winter Championship Final bid at Flemington
Oh Too Good could inspire a rebrand of the Winx Sports Bar in Bali on Saturday, with victory in the Listed Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at Flemington. One-horse trainer Kevin Daffy, wife Christine and daughters Jade and Amber will be trackside while Rick Bayliss, a long-time friend and part-owner of Oh Too Good, will be cheering from afar. 'He'll be watching it from the Winx (Sports) Bar in Bali (Seminyak) … hopefully we might be able to rename it to the Oh Too Good Bar tomorrow,' Daffy said. 'The 16 of them (Bayliss family) are going to be cheering her on from there.' Oh Too Good is $2.80 favourite to win the Listed Winter Championship Series Final from Jimmy The Bear ($6), Cafe Millenium ($6.50) and Yellow Sam ($9.50). Daffy, 'Australia's smallest trainer', was compelled to target the Winter Championship after Oh Too Good won brilliantly last start at Flemington. Jimmy The Bear, who finished second, has won since. 'I guess you can't get much smaller than one horse,' Daffy laughed. 'It's a bit of a novelty for some people … they can't believe it really, it is quite unique, quite special.' Oh Too Good has earned $569,450 with five wins and five minor places from 11 starts. The five-year-old, affectionately known as 'GiGi' at home, has also become a social media sensation, thanks to Daffy's eldest daughter, Jade. 'Jade started a bit of social media with her this week, and it went nuts. She's quite clever,' Daffy said. 'She came up with a couple cute little videos on Instagram and TikTok … one had 50,000 views and 5000 likes, with people from all over the world commenting.' @ohtoogoodracehorse Meet GiGi (Oh Too Good) 🐎✨ She's fiery, unapologetic and has that 'main character energy' that lights up a track! 🩷💛 #horseracing #australianhorseracing #winterracing #horsetraining #horses #horse #narratortrend #narrator #narration #fy #fypage #ohtoogood #horsesoftiktok #horseriding #horsetok #horselover #racing #thoroughbred #trending #narration #viral #viraltiktok #viralvideo #viralvideos ♬ original sound - Oh Too Good The viral 72-second clip on the Ohtoogoodracehorse TikTok account celebrates Daffy's dedication to the 'diva' with behind the scenes footage and a witty script. 'GiGi only likes two things,' the video voiceover states. 'Winning (and) Kevin … everyone else, tolerated at best.' Daffy is rarely too far from the mare. 'No one else touches this horse, ever, that's why I never let her out of my sight,' Daffy said. 'I do hire a strapper to come with me race day but that's more to go and get the saddle, run the colours up, and help do a few little things I need done. 'She frets if I get too far away from her … she's getting better. When she first went to the races I couldn't walk across from the stall to the fence to talk to anybody, she wouldn't be happy. 'She does at least let me do that a bit now.' • Despite saddling the favourite, Daffy has respect for the entire field on Saturday. 'No matter what the market says, they're all good horses,' Daffy said. 'I'd be foolish to think I'd be going to a Listed race at Flemington with confidence of winning … I'm happy I'm going there with a horse in the best shape, as happy and as healthy as I could have her. 'With some luck in running, she'll definitely be right in the finish and hopefully winning.' He also praised jockey Ben Allen for his commitment to stick with Oh Too Good. Allen brought forward a suspension, had to forgo bulk rides to do so, and all but made the 54kg cut. 'He will be riding her a little bit over the 54kg … that will depend on how he is tomorrow.' Daffy said. 'She could potentially be carrying 55kg, worst case. He's been so committed to wanting to ride her, I didn't ask him to do that because I know how difficult it is for jockeys but he wanted to do it. 'Set himself the task to get down to ride … I really appreciate that and hopefully she can repay him.'
