EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Tapine’s Raiders Captaincy News Wasn’t a Surprise to His Wife

While leadership may not have come naturally to him, Joseph Tapine has developed into one of rugby league’s outstanding captains as the new leader of the Raiders.

The 30-year-old made his debut with the Knights a decade ago but faced hurdles, including off-field incidents and contract challenges, before being named the club’s new skipper after a heartbreaking finish to the 2024 season, where they narrowly missed out on finals contention.

Tapine was officially announced at Canberra’s end-of-season presentation evening and joins a distinguished line-up of players who have captained the esteemed club in the past.

Among the former captains in the capital is current head coach Ricky Stuart, who treated Tapine to dinner in September leading up to the announcement.

However, Tapine revealed that he was not the first in his family to learn the news.

“I was incredibly proud,” he shared in an exclusive chat with Wide World of Sports.

“Sticky took me out for dinner and broke the news. I believe he told my wife the week before, so they were keeping secrets from me.

“I have been aiming for this position for many years, working hard to improve myself and my leadership skills.”

This pivotal moment in Tapine’s career is a long way from a few years back when he and Stuart had a public fallout.

During that period, Tapine’s wife Kirsten voiced her frustrations regarding the Raiders head coach on social media, casting doubt over the New Zealand international’s future with the club.

Yet, the two-time Dally M Prop of the Year sees that conflict as a turning point that allowed him to step into a leadership role he hadn’t envisioned for himself.

“Definitely not – I probably only began to embrace it in the year when I had that disagreement with Sticky,” Tapine noted.

“My wife has always believed I’m a leader, and I’ve endeavoured to lead through my actions.

“I was never the vocal type, especially in junior football. I didn’t make many representative teams when I was younger, and in the Under-20s, I was just focused on doing my job.

“It’s taken a lot of individual work on my part … I’ve set myself ambitious goals. It’s far from natural for me, and I had to work on numerous aspects.”

This turning point also enhanced Tapine’s off-field relationship with the veteran coach.

“Now, Stick and I are good mates – worlds apart from how it was before,” he said.

“I can reach out to him via call or text if I have thoughts about a player or how we’d like to train.

“We’re on the same wavelength. He can always reach out to me too to say, ‘Taps, I need you to handle this’, and I think that strong rapport will benefit our team in the future.” 

Tapine takes over the captaincy from English international Elliott Whitehead, who departed the NRL at the end of last year and is expected to conclude his career in Catalans.

Although the exits of Whitehead and Jordan Rapana will leave significant gaps for Canberra in the immediate term, Tapine believes it offers an opportunity for emerging leaders to rise.

“They represent a massive loss, but we have many younger players ready to step up,” he remarked.

“A lot of the younger guys are eager to take on leadership roles as well, which I find encouraging. When everyone strives to be part of that leadership group, it benefits the entire squad.

“The changes we’ve had, with the loss of experienced players, are made more manageable because these new guys are stepping up.”

Canberra will see the arrival of several new players this year, including Warrington back-rower Matty Nicholson and former Eels halfback Ethan Sanders.

Tapine also praised young Queensland hooker Owen Pattie, who joined the club last year and has been progressing through the ranks.

The Raiders begin their NRL campaign against the Warriors in Las Vegas on 2 March.