Josh Papalii of the Raiders bounces in the mix of Kangaroos

Meninga said that Papalii's flexibility, where he can play in the second row or at the lock or in support, further refined the value of the Raiders striker

"I thought that he had a very good run. ", said Meninga on Friday.

" Certainly since he's been let go, get back on the side and play in the middle of the pack at age 13 he has excelled.

"I think he's one of the best attackers in the competition." He was only used sparingly through Origin as I thought, but he was does enough impact through these three games to deserve to be on the selection table

"The good thing with 'dad' is that he is got flexibility, he can play at the edge, he can play in the middle The middle is fine

"It's a big unit, he has a good footwork, a good speed, he has an excellent engine it can last a good few minutes. "

Captain Raiders Jarrod Croker Papalii confirmed his participation in the Australian team against the North Queensland Copwboys at the Canberra stadium on Saturday night .

Joe Tapine (suspended) for the next two weeks, Croker said that Sia Soliola would occupy the second place of Tapine, with Liam Knight arriving in the 17 on the bench

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Papalii could also cover the edge, but Croker was looking forward to it "Taumalolo is an important member of his team, he really manages to play well his sets and he is their big game [Thurston is head-to-head with Cowboys Boston Jason Taumalolo] "They really rely on Taumalolo for a quick game." I think we have did a great job last time and that it's going to be as tough this time. "

Midfielder Jack Wighton was suspended for the remainder of the season and Brad Abbey (concussion) ruled out, Raiders young gun Nick Cotric will wear the jersey No. 1.

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This will be his second game at the back, having also filled there for the victory of the Raiders of five rounds on Canterbury.

Croker felt that custician would be the position in which Cotric would settle in the future.

"It's exciting to see, we know how strong Nick is, how good a runner he is, the more he takes the ball in his hands, the better off he is," he said.

"We try to keep things simple and nice Nick because he has not played a lot at the side post yet, but that's probably his place in the future." [19659005"It'snicetoseehowhewillplayheobviouslyplayedonceintheyearandheplayedreallywellit'sgoodtoseehimgetanothercrack"

NRL ROUND 18

Saturday: Canberra Raiders against North Queensland Cowboys at Canberra Stadium, 7:35 pm Live on Fox League

Raiders: 1. Nick Cotric, 2. Michael Oldfield, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Sam Williams, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8. Dunamis Him, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Josh Papalii Exchange of: 14. Blake Austin, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Siliva Havili, 17. Sia Soliola, 18 Liam Knight, 19. Jack Murchie, 20. Royce Hunt, 21. Craig Garvey [19659002] Cowboys: 1. Lachlan Coote, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Enari Tuala, 4. Kane Linnett, 5. Antonio Winterstein, 6. Te Mayor Martin, 7. Johnathan Thurston (c), 8 John Asiata, 9. Jake Granville, 10. Scott Bolton, 11. Gavin Cooper, 12. Coen Hess, 13. Jason Taumalolo. Exchange of : 14. Ben Hampton, 15. Shaun Fensom, 16. Shane Wright, 17. Corey Jensen, 18. Justin O'Neill, 19. Ethan Lowe, 20. Mitchell Dunn, 21. Francis Molo, 23. Jake Clifford