NRL Rookie Spotlight: Josiah Karapani overcomes devastating setback to push for Rabbitohs debut

Josiah Karapani was just days away from realizing his dreams in 2022 – but a mysterious illness ruled him out ahead of his NRL debut with South Sydney.

The 21-year-old arrived from Auckland as a teenager and signed with the Rabbitohs, impressing club officials and starring in Jersey Flegg.

His exploits in the age group competitions led to a long-term extension at Souths, and after being promoted to the top-30 list from a developmental deal, Karapani is now close to a debut.

In an exclusive interview with The sports news Ahead of the opening round of the season, Karapani opened up his New Zealand to Australia journey, leaving his close-knit family behind.

MORE: Every NRL club’s rookie to watch in 2023 | South Sydney Rabbitohs Season Preview

“I grew up in New Zealand – in the South Auckland area – and I played with a rugby union team called East Tamaki,” he said.

“I started playing when I was five years old and we had the rip off on the side. I grew up with Union until I was 13 and then I went to school and played league. I started playing for the Warriors in their junior system and moved to the Rabbitohs after COVID.

“It was a big deal for me – I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to go with Union. I made it to a couple of representative teams by playing for the Auckland U18 side, but nothing really came after that.

“When I was in the Warriors system, I played SG Ball and played a few games over here – we used to come by every two weeks. I was lucky enough to pique an interest from one of the coaches on the teams I played against .

“They called my uncle who lived over here to see what I was up to – the only thing I did was train on my own when Footy was over due to COVID. Then the opportunity arose to move here.

“It was quite a big move – I’m very family oriented and have a lot of people in my family, probably around 30 of us. I’m kind of used to having a lot of people around me with my cousins ​​and siblings.

“It was very different moving all by myself and leaving my family to just play football and live with my aunt and uncle. It was different for me, but I knew what I came here for.”

After finding his footing changing countries as a teenager, Karapani was a shining light in the NSW Cup early last year and was destined to be called up to the top tier.

The powerful outer back reveals itself The sports news that head coach Jason Demetriou briefed Karapani on plans to debut him in the NRL before shockingly being hospitalized with an illness that left him bedridden for two weeks.

Karapani would miss the rest of the season due to illness but is ready to hit the ground running in 2023 and knows he has Demetriou in his corner.

“I missed half of the year after round 9 last year so it’s good to be fit and ready again,” he said.

“My first pre-season last year, there were a few things I didn’t do really well, I picked up bad habits and I wasn’t used to it. This year I know what to expect – go to bed early, get up early, prepare and I’ll be fine.

“It gave me confidence and made me play even harder knowing I was signed to the Rabbitohs long-term.

“JD has been good to me, especially with any habits I’m stuck in or areas I’m lacking, he will always hold me accountable.

“He always loves to do justice to each of us as players. He was a great role model for me and he has great confidence in what I can do. He also gives me a lot of life advice.

“Mainly my defense – they say I’m physically ready but they want to see how my defense goes. They’re the things I tried to prioritize in preseason games and I want to build on that and improve.”

Demetriou isn’t the only person in the South Sydney organization who has high hopes for Karapani, as some of his teammates are helping him become a star in first grade.

Representative striker Keaon Koloamatangi has spoken highly of the raw skills Karapani possesses and is confident he will step up sometime this year.

“He’s still young and still learning, but the athleticism that he has and that raw talent, not a lot of people have that,” he said The sports news.

“He still has many years to grow but I feel like if he puts his head down and focuses, he could be anything.

“Right now he’s trumping us in training and it’s exciting to see young guys doing that – if he comes into the team we know he’ll be ready to do it.”

Karapani will be battling for a place in defense this year alongside the likes of Isaiah Tass and Izaac Thompson and looks set to be the next cab should injury or suspension strike.

One person who’s been keeping an eye on him is fellow center Campbell Graham, who was more than happy to apply some of the lessons he learned during Australia’s World Cup success to open fire.

“I was willing to speak to him whenever he needs it and whenever he asks for it,” Graham said The sports news.

“I haven’t made any effort to mentor him or anything, I don’t think he really needs that.

“What he’s doing is working for him, he’s obviously a very talented kid and little things along the way that I can help him with, I’m more than happy about that.

“He’s very impressive on the pitch and definitely one to watch.”

South Sydney will start their season with a duel against Cronulla on Saturday 4 March.