Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart has confirmed that Green Machine legend Josh Papalii will leave the club at the end of this season.

Papalii has played 330 games in Green, and became the Raiders most capped player last season, breaking Jason Croker’s record of 318 games.

Stuart coach says the veteran prop is looked up to by the entire locker room and will be sorely missed, but didn’t rule out a return in a coaching or mentorship role at the club in the future.

“You don’t want to lose the investment we put into players like Josh … We have a lot of young Polynesian boys in our club as well, and I know they look up to Papa as though he’s their god.”

Papalii is currently recovering from a partial calf tear, but is expected to return to the field later this month.