In 2014, Papali'i won two gold medals at the Oceania Weightlifting Championships in New Caledonia, winning the U17(Youth) and U20(Junior) divisions by lifting a personal best of 107kg in the snatch and 125kg in the clean and jerk. His parents own a gym in Avondale.[2]
Papali'i attended Te Atatu intermediate as a youth and later attended Mount Albert Grammar School and played for their first XV rugby union side. At the same time as he was playing rugby league for the Junior Warriors. The First XV won the championship in 2016 and Papali'i won the team's player of the year award.[2]
In October, he re-signed with the Warriors on a three-year contract until the end of 2019.[3]
That year, Papali’i mixed rugby league and rugby union, making 11 appearances for the Warriors' NYC side, while also playing for Mount Albert Grammar School's title-winning First XV.[7]
In 2018, Papali'i made 20 appearances for the club as they finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Papali'i played from the bench in the clubs 27-12 elimination final loss against Penrith. In October, he was named in the Kiwis’ squad for four-Test campaign against Australia and England as well as being selected for the Junior Kiwis for their clash against the Junior Kangaroos. He re-signed with the Warriors until the end of the 2020 NRL season.[10]
2019
On 12 March, Papali'i was stood down by the Warriors due to a drink driving offence which had occurred on 1 January. It was reported that Papali'i did not provide police with a breath test.[11]
"We expect better from our players and anyone who falls short of our standards will be appropriately dealt with irrespective of the time of year or their standing within the club," Warriors CEO Cameron George said, "Isaiah is extremely remorseful for his actions. He feels like he's let his team-mates, the club, our fans and his family down. He is now determined to win back their respect and will also be fighting hard to earn back his spot in the team."[12]
The same year, Isaiah's mother Lorina Papali'i was playing for the New Zealand Warriors in the inaugural NRL Women's Premiership, an unprecedented instance of a mother and son representing the same club in the same season.[13]
2020
He played 15 games for New Zealand in the 2020 NRL season as the club missed the finals. In October, he signed a contract to join Parramatta for the 2021 season.[14]
Papali'i warming up for the Kiwis in 2022
2021
He made his debut for Parramatta in round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, coming off the interchange bench in the club's 24-16 victory over Brisbane.[15]
In round 6, he scored two tries for Parramatta in their 35-10 victory over Canberra.[16]
In round 14, he was sent to the sin bin in Parramatta's 40-12 victory over the Wests Tigers after deliberately dropping his knee onto the head of Wests player Tom Amone.[17]
Papali'i made a total of 25 appearances for Parramatta in the 2021 NRL season including both finals matches against Newcastle and Penrith as the club went out of the finals in the second week for the third straight season. In September, Papali'i was awarded the Ken Thornett Medal as Parramatta's player of the season.[18]
On 27 September, Papali'i was named Dally M Second Rower of the year.[19] On November 18, it was confirmed that he would move to the Wests Tigers starting in the 2023 season, on a three-year deal. Papali'i was initially offered a new contract by Parramatta worth $400,000 a season but instead decided to join Wests after they offered $600,000 a season.[20]
Papali'i played a total of 23 games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished with the Wooden Spoon for a second straight year.[24]
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