Isaiah Papali'i

Isaiah Papali'i (born 20 September 1998) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He has played for both Samoa and New Zealand at international level.

He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League.

Early life
Papali'i was born in Auckland, New Zealand and is of Samoan descent. His mother, Lorina Papali'i, represented New Zealand in rugby league and Samoa in rugby union.

In 2014, Papali'i won two gold medals at the Oceania Weightlifting Championships in New Caledonia, winning the U17(Youth) and U20(Junior) divisions by lifting a personal best of 107 kg in the snatch and 125 kg in the clean and jerk. His parents own a gym in Avondale.

Papali'i attended Te Atatu intermediate as a youth and later attended Mount Albert Grammar School and played for their first XV rugby union side. At the same time as he was playing rugby league for the Junior Warriors. The First XV won the championship in 2016 and Papali'i won the team's player of the year award.

Playing career
2020
In October, he signed a contract to join Parramatta for the 2021 season.

2021
He made his debut for Parramatta in round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, coming off the interchange bench in the club's 24-16 victory over Brisbane.

In round 6, he scored two tries for Parramatta in their 35-10 victory over Canberra.

In round 14, he was sent to the sin bin in Parramatta's 40-12 victory over the Wests Tigers after deliberately dropping his knee onto the head of Wests player Tom Amone.

Papali'i made a total of 25 appearances for Parramatta in the 2021 NRL season including both finals matches against Newcastle and Penrith as the club went out of the finals in the second week for the third straight season. In September, Papali'i was awarded the Ken Thornett Medal as Parramatta's player of the season.

On 27 September, Papali'i was named Dally M Second Rower of the year. On November 18, it was confirmed that he would move to the Wests Tigers starting in the 2023 season, on a three-year deal. Papali'i was initially offered a new contract by Parramatta worth $400,000 a season but instead decided to join Wests after they offered $600,000 a season.

2022
In round 10 of the 2022 NRL season, he scored two tries for Parramatta in a 31-24 loss against the Sydney Roosters.

Papali'i played a total of 28 games for Parramatta in 2022 including their Grand Final loss to Penrith.

Wikipedia