St Helens-linked man speaks on future with NRL admission made

An NRL veteran has been linked with a move to Super League side St Helens and he’s had his own say on his future.

St Helens are losing one of their own star forwards to the NRL with Morgan Knowles set to link up with his old coach Kristian Woolf at the Dolphins from 2026 onwards and per reports, Saints have identified an NRL forward as a possible replacement.

That man is Canberra Raiders veteran Josh Papali’i with St Helens ‘closing in on’ the forward according to reports from The League Scene Pod.

Papali’i has made over 300 NRL appearances and is one of the competition’s most experienced players but he’s set to turn 33 and he’s admitted that he can’t “be around forever” when speaking about his future.

The forward featured in Canberra’s golden point win over Melbourne Storm in the final game of NRL Magic Round but his comments earlier in the week have also caught the eye.

NRL veteran Josh Papali’i talks about his future amid St Helens links

Speaking to local outlet The Canberra Times, Papali’i admitted that whilst his captain Joe Tapine might think there’s plenty more games to come, he’s admitted to himself that his time as a Raider is nearing it’s end.

“Taps being Taps, he probably thinks I can still play for another five years, but that’s not the case,” the 32-year-old explained.

“I definitely know my time with the Raiders is slowly coming to an end. That’s just the reality of footy. You can’t be around forever, as much as I’d love to.”

He also confirmed: “There’s no option for next year – this year, my contract is up. I’m just focusing on trying to play some good footy at the moment and help the Raiders stay in that top four.”

Whilst his time in green might be coming to an end, the former Origin star isn’t ready to hang up the boots yet and that feeds into the links to St Helens.

He claimed: “I reckon I’ve got a couple (more years in rugby league), but it might not be in the NRL. I reckon it’ll be a local league somewhere.

“My manager is obviously doing his job and seeing what’s out there and what’s possible, but we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks but I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest.”