On the back of his first season without representative football for over a decade, Josh Papali'i has returned to Raiders training feeling refreshed ahead of his 14th season in the NRL.
The 31-year-old's retirement from the Origin arena after 23 appearances for the Maroons, coupled with missing the end-of-year Pacific Championships due to surgery on a biceps injury, meant Papali'i played just 18 games last season, the fewest since his rookie year back in 2011.
"It's something my body needed," Papali'i told NRL.com. Â
"Playing 10 years of Origin and then international games as well, that does take a toll. At the beginning of last year it felt like it all caught up to me, with my calf injury at the start and then...