LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Josh Papalii's return to Queensland's State of Origin camp will be delayed as the veteran prop has been granted permission to arrive late due to family reasons.
Maroons coach Billy Slater announced on Monday that Papalii would start in the front-row for the Origin decider, marking two years since his retirement from representative football.
Slater revealed that he had been considering bringing Papalii back throughout the series and ultimately decided to include him for Game 3 in Sydney.
However, instead of heading straight to Queensland for camp, Papalii has opted to spend a few days in Canberra with his family after recently becoming a father for the fourth time.
He missed the birth of his newborn son while competing in Newcastle.
Slater stated, "It's a great story.
Big Papa and his wife Sepa, they had another boy over the weekend, and Papa's actually not going to enter camp today.
He's going to have a couple of days and make sure that his priority is being a dad for the next couple of days...
we do make sure that the families are looked after."
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart also praised Papalii's wife, Sepa, for her "incredible sacrifice" in allowing him to miss the birth for the game, highlighting the strong support system surrounding Papalii during this time.
As a result, Papalii is expected to join his Queensland teammates in a few days, prepared to fully commit to his preparations for the Origin match.