Since shifting to the front row this season, Papalii's starred for the Raiders in the NRL as well as for Queensland in the State of Origin opener.

He'll again play a crucial role for the Maroons as they look to wrap up the series against the NSW Blues in Perth on Sunday.

His form has him clearly in the mix and Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga told The Canberra Times the door was open for Papalii to return to the green and gold if he makes himself available.

But the 27-year-old feels he owes Samoa a fully fit Papalii after he didn't give them that at the 2017 World Cup.

That means he might opt to represent his ancestry rather than Australia at the end of the year.

Papalii said he will decide later in 2019 what he wants to do.

The Kangaroos play two end-of-season Tests - against New Zealand and Tonga - while Samoa will play Fiji.

Papalii last played for Australia in the 2016 Anzac Test and was set to do so again the following year, but was dropped after pleading guilty to drink driving.

He opted to represent Samoa at the World Cup following the death of his grandfather.

It's why he pulled out of the Prime Minister's XIII game against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby in the lead-up to the World Cup.

But he "ate and drank too much" while in camp with Samoa and got out of shape.

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The 27-year-old's wedding meant he was unavailable for Australia's Test last year.

He's had a cracking start to the season - he's ninth in the NRL for post contact metres (631) - and will come into the Kangaroos mix if his form continues.

But his current focus is solely on helping the Maroons win Origin and the Raiders win the NRL and he'll wait until the end of the year before sitting down with his "second manager" - wife Mesepa - to decide which way to go.

"When that time comes I'll think about it. I've just got to keep playing some decent footy and if that opportunity comes I'll think about it," Papalii said.

"With Australia I just didn't make myself available. Mal picked me and going into that World Cup, I had personal issues going on at that time, the passing of my grandfather.

"I didn't go to PNG for that game that was meant to be on about two weeks before the World Cup.

"I just chose to go with Samoa and probably one of my biggest regrets is not going to Samoa camp all fit.

"I'd love to repay my motherland country and got play for Samoa really fit and healthy.

"But in saying that I'm taking it week by week. My focus is playing for the Raiders and the Maroons at the moment."

Having claimed a 1-0 lead, Papalii's sights are helping Queensland win the series in Perth.

He was one of Queensland's best, running for 131 metres, made two tackle breaks and made 27 tackles.

With game three at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on July 10, Papalii knows how crucial Origin II is for the Maroons to ensure they don't have to win in front of a crowd packed with rabid Blues supporters.

Queensland have only won nine of the 27 Origins played there.

"It's going to be important. You don't want to be going to Sydney one-all. It's a tough game there," he said.

Papalii went into Queensland's Origin camp off the back of the Raiders' gutsy 22-20 victory over a hardened Cronulla Sharks pack.

He barged for 177m from his 58 minutes against hardened campaigners like Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita and Matt Prior.

But Papalii said even that wouldn't fully prepare him for stepping up to Origin - although he would take a little bit of confidence from the win into camp.

"They've played at that level for a long time. They're just players that just grind long minutes. They've been around for a while," he said.

"Origin's a different beast. Any game before Origin you take that little bit of confidence, but not too much.

"It's just a different game, different arena. I'll be prepping as well as I can [this] week and doing all I can to try and perform next Sunday."