Isaiah Papali'i (Te Atatu) was one of, if not the best rugby league and union youngster in Aotearoa during his time at Mt Albert Grammar School. This was parlayed into Dally M Second Rower of the Year honours last year and after starting this year in dominant fashion, perhaps even better fashion than his award-winning campaign last year, Papali'i continues to embrace his potential with Parramatta Eels.

This is a bit more nuanced than previous Papali'i ponderings though. Papali'i started the first 11 games as an edge forward, playing 80 minutes in eight of those games. Papali'i then started three games at lock followed by two starts on an edge and this phase of five games is notable because Papali'i played less than 75mins in all five games.

Papali'i has played all 16 games this season which is fantastic. Playing a few different roles in the Eels forward pack and playing fewer minutes has impacted Papali'i's production though. This serves as context for a comparison against last season with a slight dip in various stats, although Papali'i has already scored as many tries this season as he did last season...

2021: 25 games, 7 tries, 4.36 TB, 1.2 OL, 2 MT, 150m, 60 PCM, (average per game)

2022: 16 games, 7 tries, 3.68 TB, 1.1 OL, 2.31 MT, 142m, 56.43 PCM.

Remember that Papali'i was judged the best Second Rower (edge forward) in the NRL last season and after 16 games, Papali'i has the same number of tries with a smidge less production. That suggests that Papali'i is again in contention for a Dally M nod and there is plenty of room for Papali'i to double down on this over the remainder of the season.

If Papali'i is deployed as an 80min edge forward for Eels, all signs suggest he will take last year's mahi even further. His dip in minutes during the winter grind feels sensible as this manages Papali'i's workload during a busy phase of the year, featuring Test footy. Starting on an edge for Aotearoa Kiwis, Papali'i played 74mins with 1 try, 9 runs for 90m @ 10m/run, 3 tackle busts and 35 tackles @ 97.22 percent efficiency.

In his last three games of footy, Papali'i has made 95 tackles and missed 1 tackle. That's at edge forward as well where more individual mahi is required and trickier schemes are thrown at defenders, plus this includes Test footy. Papali'i had at least 1 missed tackle in every NRL game prior to round 16 and that's understandable, yet somehow Papali'i has back to back NRL games with no missed tackles.

Ponder a bloke who averages 150m/game and 30 tackles. That's an elite forward right there, kinda like James Fisher-Harris as he churns out such mahi every week in the NRL. Papali'i does similar mahi out on an edge with offloads, tries and tackle busts also in the Papali'i baggy; NRL forwards don't get much better than Papali'i.

Eels are 6th on the ladder (10-6) which is reflected in how Papali'i has been deployed. Injuries, suspension and a general vibe of trying to figure some things out has seen Papali'i play different roles through Eels inconsistency. Eels will be eager to amplify their footy in the coming rounds and this will likely involve Papali'i playing 80mins on an edge every week. If that's the case, expect Papali'i's stats and mahi to get even better.

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