Since making his NRL debut for Newcastle Knights in 2014, Joseph Tapine (Harbour City) has been one of the best forwards in the NRL. Tapine apparently played on the wing for Wellington Orcas and the Rongotai College student was soon picked up by Knights recruitment manager Peter Mulholland. When Mulholland wound up moving to Raiders, Tapine soon followed.

Mulholland unfortunately passed away last year and his influence was all over the Kiwi-NRL Raiders whanau. Whether it's snaring Tapine in a major move or low key scouting Aotearoa 1st 15 talent like Jack Sandford, Mulholland loved Aotearoa footy. Tapine is now playing in his ninth NRL season and I've got Tapine ranked alongside fellow Wellington homie Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Isaiah Papali’i and James Fisher-Harris as the best Aotearoa forwards right now.

Raiders have been struggling for the past two seasons and grabbed their third win of this year in defeating Bulldogs last round. Tapine has maintained a high level of footy throughout this period as Raiders endured various dramas and departures, leading to an enticing Tapine performance to ensure victory over Bulldogs.

In 46 minutes of footy, Tapine had 17 runs for 201m. That averages out to 11.82m/run and Tapine also churned out 3 tackle busts with 18 tackles @ 86 percent. Tapine is big and mobile which has led to various highlight plays throughout his career, although his effort against Bulldogs highlighted Tapine's mana as a Raiders leader.

Along with grabbing 11m per run, Tapine chased Josh Addo-Carr all the way to the tryline despite the ref blowing up the play way back near the Bulldogs tryline. A bunch of players didn't hear the whistle and Tapine maintained his chase even though he was never going to catch the Fox.

Tapine was also the bloke chasing behind the Raiders defensive line to cover up any lapses. Usually this is the fullback's role as they swing from side to side, ready to wrap up the runner or be there for kicks through the defensive line. Jordan Rapana was playing fullback and well, let's just say he got stuck in the middle while Tapine again made an extra effort to try stop Matt Burton.

Tapine couldn't stop Burton though and appears to give Brad Schneider a spray for his defensive read and effort.

This combination of Tapine's natural footy ability and mana is intriguing for Raiders footy, as well as Aotearoa Kiwis. My Kiwi-NRL bias has me pondering how most folks highlight Josh Papali'i as the Raiders monster, although Tapine has developed into a middle forward just as good as Papali'i, if not better right now. Both Tapine and Papali'i have played nine games, so here's how they rank for relevant stats...

Post Contact Metres

Joseph Tapine: 13th - 523pcm.

Josh Papali'i: 21st - 460pcm.

Total Run Metres

Joseph Tapine: 20th - 1,235m.

Josh Papali'i: 35th - 1,133m.

Total Tackles

Joseph Tapine: 37th - 260.

Josh Papali'i: (unranked) - 223.

Tapine is now at least in the same tier as Papali'i thanks to continued growth. For his first six seasons of NRL footy, Tapine averaged below 100m/game. In 2020 Tapine took this up to 125m/game and then down to 120m/game last season. This season Tapine has flourished with 137m/game as he is graced with consistent selection as a prop alongside Papali'i; both have played 40+ minutes in every game this season.

There was an attacking tinge in the Bulldogs game as Tapine had his highest run metres of the season and lowest tackle count. Raiders were the better team in that game, although they had suffered five consecutive losses prior and Tapine had to get busy defensively with 30+ tackles in four consecutive games. The highlight being 30 tackles with no missed tackles against Warriors.

The vision of an Aotearoa Kiwis forward pack featuring Tapine, Fisher-Harris, Asofa-Solomona, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich and Isaiah Papali'i is enough to build a fizz. Tapine is now combining his natural ability with mana in his efforts and leadership, which is exactly what Aotearoa Kiwis would love in a busy year of international footy.

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