Papalii will reach the century milestone at the age of 23 years, four months and 28 days in Monday night's encounter with the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium.

Papalii was at a cross-roads earlier this year when he began the season over-weight and out of shape after the Four Nations campaign with the Kangaroos.

He was moved to the front-row and lost his spot in the Queensland State of Origin team for the first two games of the series.

But after a heart to heart with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, Papalii has slimmed down and is doing plenty of damage in his preferred position in the second-row, causing chaos on the edge of the field.

That improved form led to Papalii being recalled to the Queensland side for the triumphant third game of the series where they thrashed NSW to reclaim the shield.

"I think he's realised that it's still a bit of hard work," Meninga said.

"He's a smart player and he's got great skills.

"They started him off in the middle because of his fitness, but as his fitness grew, they put him back on the edge.

"That's where he probably belongs and now he's playing the best footy of his career, which is great."

Papalii debuted for the Raiders as a 19-year-old in the round 10 encounter against the Melbourne Storm in 2011.

He has become a regular component of the Raiders' forward pack ever since.

The Raiders are keen to extend Papalii's contract, which expires at the end of 2016, and will start negotiations with his management in September or October.

Having already reached 100 games so early in his career, Meninga believes Papalii has the durability to be a cornerstone of the Raiders for years to come.

"If he maintains his discipline with the way he trains and how he looks after himself, the way he eats and all that, he'll have a pretty long career in the game," Meninga said.

"He's a pretty resilient type of character and he's hard to hurt.

"He's one of those guys who will stay in the game for a long time."

Another Raiders talent who was called into the Queensland squad this year was exciting 22-year-old winger Edrick Lee.

Lee – who has played just 43 first-grade games – was the 19th man for the Maroons for the series deciding game in Brisbane in a sign of how highly he is regarded.

"We've done a fair bit of investment in Edrick and I like Edrick as a player," Meninga said.

"He's worked hard to get back on the field and he's playing pretty good footy for the Raiders.

"He's come back a better player after being involved with the quality of the players in the Queensland team."

Lee will miss Monday night's game against the Tigers while he serves a one-game suspension for tripping.