Live: Origin hopefuls go head to head as Raiders try to take top spot

The Raiders break down the left through Seb Kris and Ethan Strange pops a ball back infield to Simi Sasagi, but he can’t handle. It looked like he was distracted by Latrell Mitchell going for the intercept, but the Raiders are appealing that the Souths fullback actually got a hand to it.

Even looking at slow-motion replays, I can’t tell.

Latrell Mitchell’s bomb drifts out on the full to give the Raiders some field position, but once again the fifth-tackle option is a bad one as Jamal Fogarty’s chip trickles over the dead-ball line.

The Rabbitohs fullback makes a great charge on the kick return but falls victim to the new interpretation of the play-the-ball that puts the onus on ball carriers to stay on their feet as they play it.

But the Raiders can’t capitalise as Simi Sasagi, forced out to left centre by Savelio Tamale’s injury, attempts to catch, spin and throw a no-look pass at speed. Unsurprisingly it goes over the sideline.

Jamal Fogarty drives his foot through a spiral bomb that spends an hour or two in the air, but Latrell Mitchell just stays on his toes and makes the catch look easy out away from his body.

It’s so miserable in Canberra right now that even Ricky Stuart has been forced to pair his long coat with a Raiders beanie.

Still not enough to force up into the coach’s box though.

Jamal Fogarty’s bomb comes down 3 metres in front of the tryline and Latrell Mitchell takes it cleanly, but he’s set upon immediately by Joe Tapine, who hurls him back into the in-goal.

Canberra tries to aim up with its trademark defence, but Ethan Strange gets overzealous and gives away six again with a blatant flop.

The Rabbitohs roll up field and Cody Walker rolls the ball into the in-goal. Jamal Fogarty desperately whacks the ball dead.

And they get the ball back as Tyrone Munro fumbles the short dropout.

Alex Johnston runs onto a gorgeous floating pass by Cody Walker and dives over on the left wing.

The return of Walker and Mitchell is great news for his chances of tracking down Ken Irvine’s mark of 212 as the greatest try-scorer in rugby league history.

Meanwhile, Latrell Mitchell’s conversion stays left as the wind and rain builds on this freezing afternoon in Canberra.

I’m not exactly sure what’s happened here but Raiders winger Savelio Tamale is in a great deal of pain.

He went down in what looked like a pretty innocuous tackle, with Isaiah Tass and Euan Aitken up top, and Lachlan Hubner around his legs.

Looks like Tamale’s right ankle got caught under Hubner. No hip-drop penalty but Tamale is going to have to come off. He can’t put any weight on that right foot.

If it’s as serious as it looks, that’s a crushing blow for Canberra because Tamale has been one of the best hard-running outside backs to start this season.

Kaeo Weekes has had his struggles under the high ball and he fails a test from Latrell Mitchell’s floating bomb. He ‘lets’ the ball bounce on the tryline and, luckily for him and the Raiders, it bounces dead.

But the Raiders follow suit with an Ethan Strange grubber rolling dead at the other end.

Hudson Young is pinged for a high shot on Jayden Sullivan and Latrell Mitchell pots the penalty goal from just to the right of the posts.

Latrell Mitchell drills a ball low and gets it to skid and pull up in the in-goal. Kaeo Weekes is in two minds about whether to play at it but eventually does, only to be pummelled back behind the tryline.

The dropout is a long one and Jai Arrow goes back to fetch it from 10 or 15 metres behind halfway, making a beeline for Corey Horsburgh, who stops him dead in the middle of the field.

An interesting collision between Queensland Maroons Origin hopefuls.

It’s a former Raider in Siliva Havili who orchestrates the try, skipping out from dummy half and firing a face ball to Keaon Koloamatangi.

Zac Hosking can’t get across to make an impact and Jamal Fogarty can’t handle Koloamatangi all by himself right on the tryline.

It’s about 6 degrees Celsius, with an apparent temperature of -1 or -2. And it’s raining.

Lovely day for some footy.

Josh Papali’i takes the second charge to rapturous applause.

And he leads the kick chase to end the set, crushing Alex Johnston.

The Rabbitohs first, followed by the Raiders after leading points-scorer Jarrod Croker blows the viking horn.

Josh Papali’i is the last player out, walking through a guard of honour of past and present players, accompanied by his son.

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has shared his favourite Josh Papali’i moment, and no surprise it’s the big man’s 2019 preliminary final try against, coincidentally, South Sydney.

Stuart praises Papali’i as a club legend on Fox.

“He’s got a real presence. When he walks in the room his presence is felt.

“We all love Big Papa. He’s genuinely a really nice person and a person you wanna play with. He’ll go down as one of our greats here at the Raiders.

“Josh will go down with Lazarus, Meninga, Clyde and Daley.”

There’s probably a halfback’s name that belongs there too, but I respect Ricky’s humility.

I love that Ricky Stuart has given Josh Papali’i the start today.

The veteran prop has been coming off the bench most of this season, but for his 319th game in the NRL and for the Raiders, Sticky wants the Canberra faithful to see as much of this faithful servant as possible.

Papali’i overtakes Jason Croker as the most capped Raider and I was thinking about it this week: Where does he fit in Canberra’s greatest forward pack?

Surely he’s starting at prop alongside Glenn Lazarus. He may be forced to the bench by Joe Tapine when all is said and done, but Big Papi has been holding it down in the nation’s capital for 15 years now.

Who are we keeping an eye on in this one for potential State of Origin selection tomorrow?

For Canberra, it’s all about Corey Horsburgh. The prop/lock was the most surprising omission from Billy Slater’s Game I team and the Maroons missed him against a physically imposing Blues pack.

Could Jamal Fogarty sneak into the frame for a halfback spot if reports around Daly Cherry-Evans’s axing are correct? I don’t think so, to be honest. Hudson Young will of course be named for NSW again and I wouldn’t be shocked if someone like Xavier Savage finds himself in the Queensland squad, even if he doesn’t play in Perth on June 18.

For South Sydney, Latrell Mitchell is a lock to keep his spot at left centre for NSW, but he could very well be joined by Keaon Koloamatangi if Laurie Daley chooses a like-for-like replacement for Mitch Barnett.

There is also a chance for prop Jai Arrow to force his way back into the Maroons side for the first time in over two years. His is a similar case to Horsburgh’s, so they may be facing off for the same spot to add some grunt, but Arrow can also play in the back row if Slater wants.