Josh Papalii's return to Queensland camp is delayed as he spends time with his newborn son.
Josh Papalaii's return to the Queensland State of Origin set-up will start a few days later than expected, with the veteran prop granted permission to arrive to camp late. Maroons coach Billy Slater dropped a bombshell on Monday when he named Papalii to start in the front-row in the Origin decider - two years after he retired from rep footy.
Slater admitted he'd been toying with the idea of asking Papalii to come out of retirement the whole series, and finally bit the bullet for Game 3 in Sydney. But Papalii won't link up with his Queensland teammates for at least a few days after Slater granted him time away from camp.
The Canberra Raiders veteran recently became a father for the fourth time, but missed the birth while playing in Newcastle. Rather than fly straight to Queensland for the start of Maroons camp, Papalii has headed back to Canberra for a few days with his new son.