Rival club in talks with Bulldogs young gun
Zero Tackle
He runs off-contract at the end of the 2025 season.
A rival NRL club is reportedly in talks about securing one of the Canterbury Bulldogs' most impressive young players as they undergo a roster rebuild.
An U19s NSW Blues representative, Joash Papalii, could find himself at a new club in the near future as he looks to cement a regular spot in the NRL competition and make his first-grade debut.
Contracted until the end of the 2025 NRL season on a development contract with the Bulldogs, he has slowly fallen down the pecking order at the club, with Connor Tracey and Blake Taaffe still ahead of him for the fullback spot.
However, he has still been a regular feature in the NSW Cup starting line-up, appearing in 20 matches and scoring three tries, making seven line-breaks, 39 tackle busts, 113 running metres per game and providing 15 try assists.
Focused on making his NRL first-grade debut sooner rather than later, Papalii is in talks with the Parramatta Eels to join the club and contend with Isaiah Iongi for the No.1 jersey, per The Sydney Morning Herald.
A move to Parramatta wouldn't be out of the question, as he revealed to Zero Tackle earlier this season that he grew up supporting the Eels and idolising Jarryd Hayne before joining the Bulldogs Harold Matthews Cup squad in 2021.
A local junior starting out of Saint Johns Eagles in Punchbowl, he has spent most of his career in the fullback position but also spent time on the wing and in the centres throughout his junior career.
However, Phil Gould made a surprising admission last year, revealing that he could be moved into a dummy-half role, which would see him take over from Reed Mahoney down the road or play a one-two punch with him off the interchange bench.
Despite Gould's comments, Papalii provided insight into where he could play if given the chance to play at NRL level - aiming to remain a fullback.
"I think as a 14, just play anywhere, wherever Ciro puts me. I just got to play and bring (what I can) toward the team, but I think just staying as a 14," Papalii told this publication earlier in the year.
I'm just going to try and improve every day, each day, especially behind the scenes when no one sees us (and) just work hard."
