How Laurie Daley is inspiring Canberra Raiders star Josh Papali'i

Papali'i, rugby league's fearsome front-rower, lays on a bed with breast implants and tells the doctor he'd only come in to get a mole removed.

Cut to Laurie Daley being zapped during a shift on the tools before, in the next clip, he's flying a chopper Papali'i is too scared to jump out of.

It's so bad, it's good.

"I've got that many text messages last night saying it was so cringe, but it's good fun. The boys give you stick about it but it's all good fun," Papali'i said.

MORE SPORT

"Mate, [Laurie] was going hard out and he was worse than me."

But there's a twist in the tale of a Canberra law firm's latest advertising campaign.

The United Legal spruik has brought two Canberra Raiders champions together to meet properly for the first time.

For years Papali'i has heard about Daley's legacy in Canberra. He has seen the three-time premiership winner's photo on the walls of Raiders headquarters, sporting that iconic milk-branded jersey with the JJ Giltinan Shield in hand.

For almost as long, Daley has watched Papali'i turn into one of the club's all-time greats. For a time he even had the unenviable task of finding a way to shut him down when they mixed in State of Origin's cauldron.

"It was good fun to actually meet Laurie properly and spend a few hours talking to the Raiders legend. He's got a bit of history at this club and he was awesome to learn off," Papali'i said.

"I've had my fair share [of time] with Mal [Meninga] and Tim Sheens in the Aussie squads. There's a few in Queensland as well, you've got your Boxheads [Steve Walters] and your Kevvie Walters.

"They're obviously good to talk to because they've been through the system before and they've paved the way to set up players like myself.

"It's awesome to hear the old stories about how they went about their business and how they got it done."

Both on and off the field.

On the park, the Raiders of the late 1980s and early 1990s were among the greatest teams ever assembled. They played five grand finals in eight years and won three.

They likely would have won another had Ricky Stuart's broken ankle not dramatically altered the landscape that was 1993.

Daley's stories weren't all about the halcyon days in front of grandstands full of delirious Raiders fans. There were of course tales of off-field antics allowed to go on without as much as a syllable reported. How times have changed.

"It was probably easier to get away with a lot of things, no smartphones back in the day," Papali'i said.

"He was just sharing his experience about how they went about their business. It sort of helps when you've got the Australian team playing for Canberra. That was pretty awesome to listen to."

So were the yarns about his coach.

"I think everyone has got a few stories about 'Sticky', hey," Papali'i grinned.

"Sometimes when I go to random bars or restaurants, they're always telling me a story about Stick. Sticky must have been a pub crawler, bro."

Now all he's worried about is taking the Raiders to their first premiership in 29 years - and he doesn't want to crawl there.

Ask Stuart what still drives him after more than two decades as an NRL coach, and he will tell you it's a desire to see his players feel what he felt on the last day of the season.

That is what separates Papali'i from Stuart, Daley, Meninga and Clyde. All Raiders greats, but one is missing a rugby league player's crowning achievement.

There have been days when it seemed the drought would end. The grand final defeat of 2019, the preliminary final losses around it.

Papali'i believes Canberra have the talent to win a competition. There's a Dally M medallist in Jack Wighton at five-eighth and, in Papali'i's eyes, the best front-rower in the world in Joe Tapine leading the charge.

The road to get there, should Papali'i overcome a minor calf strain, starts in Townsville against a resurgent North Queensland side on March 4.

"Any team with Jason Taumalolo leading the way, it's going to be a tough ask," Papali'i said.

"They're playing a brand of footy that's really exciting. It's probably similar to us, we can score from anywhere. Their forward pack is looking pretty strong as well.

"I'm doing fine, I got through 20 minutes in the trial. It obviously wasn't my best game, but it was good to get out and run again. I'm working on injuries I have at the moment and hopefully I'm alright for round one.

"It's just a little calf strain, nothing major, I'm running and doing everything fine. I tweaked it before the game and actually was going to pull out but thought I would just get 20 minutes in. Another year goes on and I gain another year of experience and knowledge. I'm pretty excited."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.