Josh Papalii's heroic State of Origin return capped by touching moment with son

In the history of State of Origin final hurrahs, Josh Papalii's will have to be up there as one of the best.

And thanks to his son Noah, on an Origin night where family meant more than most, it included one of the sweetest farewells, too.

Billy Slater needed his veteran former teammate to help steady the Queensland forwards' effort.

It was why he gave the Raiders man the call.

Papalii missed the first couple of attempts — he was in the hospital with his wife Mesepa after she gave birth to his fourth child, son Jeremiah.

Papalii had missed the actual birth to play in the Raiders' 22-18 victory over the Knights that sent the Raiders to the top of the ladder.

"An unbelievable sacrifice from Sepa," Stuart told reporters in Newcastle at the post-game press conference.

"It was always going to be touch and go whether Sepa could hang on or whatnot, but she wanted Josh to go away and play.

"It was an unbelievable sacrifice from a new mother."

Papalii ran for 106 metres in that game, and made 31 tackles, then raced back to Canberra to be with his wife and hold his son.

But once Slater got through, the response to leave was almost instant.

Josh Papalii only had eight runs in the match, but provided a calming and dominant presence. (Getty Images: Darrian Traynor)

"It's always an honour [and] privilege to represent this beautiful state," Papalii told Channel Nine after the match.

"I was happily retired until Billy gave me the call, and I still had that fire in the belly for this jersey.

"I didn't see myself coming back at all. Just the encouragement of my wife to just come back and give it one last go.

He had another game in him — a 24th and final Origin appearance for the Maroons.

And what a game.

Sure, the big Canberra prop ran just 62 metres from eight runs in a short 25 minutes of football — his first stint was over before the Maroons scored their first try.

But his calming presence in the heart of the field was invaluable as the Maroons controlled the Blues early and then maintained that lead in the closing stages as Queensland held on to claim a momentous come-from-behind series victory with a 24-12 win in Sydney.

Papalii last played for the Maroons in 2022 and had retired from representative football.

He is playing his final season in Canberra this year and has been in career-best form.

The 33-year-old said he had a tear in his eye, but was most pleased that he was able to do it in front of his eldest son, Noah.

Josh Papalii will be proud of Noah Papalii's comments. (Supplied: Channel Nine)

"My family means everything to me," he said.

"There's three things I care about and they're my faith, my family and obviously this jersey.

"So [I'm] glad my son's old enough to realise what [his] Dad's doing and hopefully I'm here in 20 years supporting him."

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Noah, however, stole the show with a gorgeous response to warm the hearts of parents everywhere.

Clutching his father, Noah wiped his eyes and, slightly overwhelmed, said he just wanted to get back to Canberra so his father could look after newborn Jeremiah.

"Just worried about the baby at home," he said.

"So my dad could see him and hug him."

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