Hard & Fast: Joseph Tapine Signs With Canberra Raiders

Oooooh he's a hearty kiwi, he's a hearty kiwi, he's a hearty kiwi. Oooooh, he's a hearty kiwi, he's a hearty kiwi, he's a hearty kiwi.

A month or two ago I wrote how Joseph Tapine, currently with Newcastle Knights in the NRL was close to signing a deal with Canberra.

Knights coach Nathan Brown wasn't happy and threatened Tapine with a season in reserve grade. Tapine, a great kiwi lad, had come through the Knights' Under 20s team and is on the cusp of establishing himself in the NRL.

Just as the Knights are set to enjoy the best of Tapine, he leaves.

He leaves because the Raiders offered him a reported $1.5mil for three years, $500,000 a year if you can do mathematical stuff.

That's one heck of an offer for 21-year-old with 20 NRL games to his name.

Seriously, play 20 NRL games and get offered $500k a year? Sign me up!

Tapine deserves that sort of money, because, well, any professional athlete deserves what they are offered. The Raiders obviously have salary cap space, Tapine has shown signs of being a young footy player with truckloads of potential and so a big offer is made.

Tapine is really good: size, footwork, offloads. Tapine will play for the Kiwis.

Now the Knights could be interested in letting Tapine go for this season as he was meant to join the Raiders for 2017. 

The Knights won't win the NRL this season and are rebuilding their club. Keeping Tapine around for a year seems kinda pointless and the Raiders could actually be quite good this year, especially if Tapine is allowed to move.

Consider the Raiders' backrow rotation: Tapine, Iosia Soliola, Josh Papalii and Elliott Whitehead who has 20 Tests for England.

(Tapine, with his 20 NRL games is probably on a better contract than Whitehead, with his 20 Tests)

Even without Tapine, I like how the Raiders are shaping up. 

I hope Tapine gets released and we see him in the lime green, helping an undercover Raiders side upset a few teams.