Hunting premierships was an obvious incentive for Isaiah Papali’i to leave the Wests Tigers and join Penrith, but a desire to grow after “plateauing” in recent seasons is the main reason why the back-rower decided to challenge himself in the toughest system in the NRL.
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It’s been an interesting journey for Papali’i, who spent the first four seasons of his career at the Warriors but then exploded into form in his first year at the Eels where he was named in the Dally M team of the year.
He scored a career-high 10 tries the following year as the Eels reached the grand final against Penrith, but confusion over his deal with the Wests Tigers for 2023 followed him everywhere he went and caused more drama than necessary.
Papali’i was one of the best edge forwards in the world when he joined the Tigers, but by his own admission he struggled at a club that went through a few coaches and enters 2025 having claimed three wooden spoons in a row.
It’s why he decided to move to the four-time defending premiers where he hopes to recapture the Eels form that eluded him at the Tigers.
“I had a few good years a few years back, and then I kind of plateaued or just didn’t really progress as a player,” he said.
“Then the opportunity came to come here where I would be able to grow and learn off the coaches and the players around me would make me better.
“I think reflecting on it, it is a little bit frustrating (that I didn’t develop more).
“But I can’t really do anything about those years that have gone by now. It’s about trying to look forward and put in the work, so I have no excuse to not play well. I have to be as best prepared as I can to keep progressing and growing.”
Papali’i won’t last long at the Panthers if he doesn’t perform at his best, and that’s motivation enough for a man who is hungry to taste the success he’s seen them enjoy from afar.
It comes after his numbers dropped significantly at the Tigers where he averaged just 89 metres per game last year, down from 137 in 2021, while he had 78 more tackle busts four years ago, albeit in nine more games.
“You can look at it like that, but I’ve also got to look at myself and how I looked after myself and how I prepared for games. I want to make sure that my backyard is looked after and that I’m ready to play whenever I get the opportunity,” he said.
“I don’t want to have any reason to plateau. The best way to eliminate that is preparing well and being ready whenever I need to be.
“I can see that I’m more physically fit and more mentally locked in.”
Papali’i will be part of a new-look left edge at Penrith that will likely have Paul Alamoti on the wing, Casey McLean at centre and new recruit Blaize Talagi at five-eighth.
There was a suggestion he could play in the middle this year given James Fisher-Harris is no longer at the club, but he hasn’t trained much there and will start on the edge in Las Vegas.
“It’s a new edge, but we’ve been chipping away at it together, sitting down in the video room, talking to coaches and getting reps under our belt,” he said, revealing he felt nervous ahead of his first trial game.
“We’ll keep working on that. It’s never a perfect kind of picture, but I think that’s what’s exciting because we have so much growth as an edge and as a team.
“I won’t know until round 1 (if it’s an easy system to get used to) but the trial matches we have done I have found it challenging.
“But you can’t argue with the fact it works and it has been working for a couple of years now. I’m just trying to get up to par with how they do things and add a bit of flavour.”
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