Canberra’s Josh Papalii expects to play in Thursday’s crucial NRL clash against the Sydney Roosters despite the pending arrival of his third child.

Papalii’s wife Sepa is staying with family in Logan, south of Brisbane, with the prop bouncing between there and Canberra’s base on the Gold Coast as they await the newest addition to their family.

With Canberra needing to beat the Sydney Roosters and hope Cronulla lose to Melbourne on Friday to sneak into the finals, Papalii says he’ll be on the plane to Mackay unless his wife is actually in labour.

“My partner knows my heart and she knows I bleed green so she said just go as per normal,” Papalii said.

“So if she feels like baby’s going to come on Thursday, then I’ll have to double check to make sure if it’s actually going to come, if not I’ll be on the flight to Mackay.

“If it comes that night, then I’ll just have to FaceTime in I think.”

While most of his Raiders teammates will be honing in on their preparation for the Roosters before nervously watching the Sharks clash with Melbourne the following night, Papalii admits his focus is primarily on his family this week.

“Footy sort of just comes as second nature to me, I have to put that on hold when I go back home,” Papalii said.

“She could pop at any stage now.

“I’ll probably get the group message if we’re in or not on Friday but we’re just going to have to wait and see.”

Meanwhile the Raiders have confirmed outside back Jordan Rapana will stay at the club for a further two seasons after signing a new deal.

The 32-year-old re-joined the Raiders after a brief stint in Japanese rugby in 2019 and has now made over 150 appearances for the club including 21 games so far this season.

“He’s just one of those players you’ve just got to have around the club and especially on the field,” Papalii said of Rapana.

“He’s a competitive person … he just likes to win everything and it’s awesome news for the club.”

AAP