LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
Canberra Raiders captain Joseph Tapine is confident that young dummy-half Owen Pattie will elevate his game even further in 2026, following his debut in the NRL this season.
As the 2025 season kicked off, Pattie was relatively unknown outside of the capital. However, he soon proved to be one of the league's standout young dummy-halves, forming an effective partnership with Tom Starling.
Making his debut in Round 1, the 21-year-old went on to participate in every match for the Raiders, playing a crucial role in securing the minor premiership by leading the ladder and advancing to the second round of the finals.
Although the team aspired to achieve more, Pattie aims to duplicate his impressive performance from his rookie season as he heads into 2026, with the expectation that he will continue to improve over the coming years.
Having witnessed Pattie's talents firsthand, Raiders front-rower and captain Joseph Tapine praised the 2024 Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup player of the year, asserting his belief that Pattie will reach even greater heights next season.
"He had zero experience in the NRL level and playing every game and doing what he'd done that was really cool.
"He'll get better next year and the year on and so forth due to exposure and I think he got great exposure this year."