Ricky Stuart honored Josh Papalii after Canberra's win, announcing his son's birth during the press conference.
Ricky Stuart produced a brilliant gesture for Josh Papalii after Canberra's win over Newcastle on Saturday night, bringing him into the post-match press conference to announced the birth of his fourth child. Papalii had another barnstorming game, running for 106 metres and making 31 tackles as the Raiders won 22-18.
The 33-year-old made a surprise appearance alongside Stuart and Canberra captain Joseph Tapine in the post-match press conference, and Stuart started by revealing why. The coach described it as an "unbelievable sacrifice" from Papalii's wife Sepa to give him her blessing to travel to Newcastle and miss the birth, which happened just hours before the game.
"The reason I bought Paps along today, an unbelievable sacrifice from Sepa Papalii - Josh's wife - who had a baby boy this afternoon, Jeremiah," Stuart said. "It was always going to be touch and go whether Sepa could hang on or what not, but she wanted Josh to go away and play. It was an unbelievable sacrifice from a new mother so I thought I'd bring Josh along."