He wasn't alone.

The hulking front-rower put Canberra on his back when the match was there to be won and scored the try which clinched the Raiders' first grand final appearance in 25 years.

He ran for 168 metres and set a tremendous platform for the Raiders' backs alongside former Rooster Iosia Soliola.

In the days since Papalii's match winner gave Canberra fans a night they will never forget, Ricky Stuart has gone one step further than John Bateman - who last week labelled Papalii the best prop in the world - by declaring the Queensland Origin star as the best player in the NRL.

If Waerea-Hargreaves and his fellow Roosters big men can stop Papalii's metre-eating ways, the ripple effect could cripple Josh Hodgson's impact out of dummy-half.

Crippling Hodgson's impact in attack would all but certainly stop the Raiders' hopes of pinching the premiership.

So, how do you stop Papalii and the ripple effect he creates?

"Run hard and tackle hard. It's pretty simple," Waerea-Hargreaves said. "Just go. Keep going and keep going for the full 80.

"(Papalii) played fantastic (on Friday) but for us, it's about worrying about us and what we do as front rowers.

"(At) every club if you're front-rowers aren't going forward, your chances are pretty low.

"Every club, mate, your big boys have to go forward and there's no doubt we will both be trying our best on Sunday."

Waerea-Hargreaves has experience in the head-hunting department, given he has long been the barometer for the Roosters' pack.

That gives him an ideal insight into how critical stopping Papalii and the Canberra pack will be to the Roosters' hopes of claiming back-to-back premierships at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

It also makes him aware that he must remain composed on-field in what will be his fourth grand final, having missed the preliminary final win over the Storm due to a trip in the Tricolours' qualifying final win over Souths.

"You just have to be better. You have to be clear. You can't let the emotion get to you," he said.

"Being on the field is more important than being off. My role is the most important. My role or my job for the team is doing my part."

The New Zealand international also put a stop to talk about back-to-back titles, as Roosters players and coach Trent Robinson alike have done all year.

He did reveal, however, that Roosters players had recently taken a moment to reflect on the season to date as they flicked through photos from the past 10 months.

"That's been the talk, that's been the talk, the back-to-back. It's been pretty special. The boys started back in November last year and we have been on a hell of a journey for the last 10 months," he said.

"We went through a few photos the other day and it really hit home - our journey this year.

"It will be special, mate. We don't really care about last year, to be honest with you. We care about Sunday.

"People talk about the back-to-back but to be honest, I don't care about it. I care about this week."