BY DAN

Half a year of back-and-forth, some disquieting moments, but ultimately the Canberra Raiders and Josh Papalii have reached agreement on another year. Pour the champagne. Pull the party-popper. Run over Damian Cook for old time’s sake.

It’s been like a sitcom “will they, won’t they?” We’ve known how this was going to end the entire time. Both sides had too much invested in making the commitment. The big guy doesn’t want to go to England just yet. He doesn’t want to run out against his best mate Joe next year. One more season, just to make really sure he’s done with this existence.

For the Raiders the decision has been made by the fact Papa has simply been playing too well. At 33 he’s better than most alternatives, still the third best middle in a dominant pack. He’s still an elite forward, someone who can still muster 20-plus minutes of Origin level football. And he’s still a hero and leader to a club, a community, and a pipeline of young Pasifika footballers. Oh and he loves the Raiders.

“I love this club and I love Canberra.”

Those are actually Papalii’s words when he last extended his contract. At the time it was considered a ‘Raider for life’ deal, like he could be anything but. The central tenet of that was the idea that at this stage of his career he’d be winding down. A big L for the headline writers. A win for Papa and the Milk.

And so it’s progressed from “please stay” to “we need to find a deal” to “the NRL has to let us pay you less”. That wasn’t much of a hang-up, given the NRL is apparently letting Daly Cherry-Evans play for less than half his current wage and a car (it’s probably a very fancy car). This contract could take him 350 games and beyond. Rare air for a middle forward who has carried so much of the load for so long.

The risk here is obvious. One additional year of Papalii is going to cost them a career of Trey Mooney, whose deal at Newcastle will now click from ‘pretty much done’ to absolutely done. The choice is stark. Some will tell you to ignore the 35,000 metres that Papa has over the last 14 years, and ask you instead to consider who is going to run more over the next 14. That answer is Mooney. But that brute absolutism.

A more nuanced understanding of the process is that for reasons of culture and future-proofing, Stuart may be keen to establish that careers can end at Canberra on a good note. It’s not always been the way, and given how important specific veterans will be to this young side, the last thing he needs is great players looking to jump before they’re pushed. Coach Stuart once said, “Papa will go down as one of the greatest players ever when he retires” and I guess he’s making sure that’s true.

Additionally Stick rarely lets someone go only for them to get better. It’s fair to say that Papa is better right now. Will he still be better next year? I think that’s likely, though with more opportunity at Newcastle I’m almost certain Mooney will produce numbers if not the defensive input the club wants. So there will be conversations next year, there’s no doubt. And if he meets the potential most have ascribed Mooney will forever be the one that was ‘let go’. Only time will tell how much that hurts. Stick can (and should gussy this up in the “looking out for the boys” vibe, but make no mistake. This is a calculated gamble.

Canberra’s depth in the middle, and the talent already in the system, will provide some comfort, if not certainty, with Mooney’s departure. It’s a lot of talent to give up, but when you’ve got potentially got players with the capacities of Matty Nicholson or Noah Martin watching first grade then you can understand the relative comfort. That’ll be nice if they’re right, but cold comfort if they’re wrong about Mooney.

The price is steep, if not on the cap then in the price in new blood. But given how much of that, sweat and tears Papa has given the club over the last fifteen years, the Raiders are still very much in his debt.

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