A few of his regular customers come out to Canberra Raiders HQ and say g'day to the prop - albeit from the other side of the fence ringing the training paddock at the Braddon centre of excellence.

One of the many sad side effects of the coronavirus has been the fact Soliola can't do the truckloads of community work he usually does.

Whether it's feeding the homeless as a Civic soup kitchen every week. Or sleeping out in Canberra's freezing cold to raise money for those less fortunate.

The NRL's Apollo protocols mean he's only allowed to go to work and then come home - or go to the doctor.

But whenever the Raiders' season ends - whether that's after their preliminary final against the Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night or the following week after the NRL grand final - Soliola will be able to go back and see all his friends.

Although some of them come and find him to say hello now he's training in the city.

"It just sucks that I can't be with them. It's been a part of my routine throughout the week," Soliola said.

"It's not long now. I'll be back in there after the bubble, seeing everyone.

"I get a couple of visitors coming in and watch training and asking if I'm going to be back.

"It's pretty cool being out here in Braddon. I drive past and beep them."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

But don't let the kind heart fool you.

Soliola's part of a Raiders forward pack that's quickly become, if not the premier pack in the NRL, then one of.

Not that you could tell from meeting them. You'd struggle to find someone more likeable than Canberra enforcer Josh Papalii, who just seems to keep getting better with every game.

So good has Papalii become he's one of five players nominated for the Rugby League Players' Association's Players' Champion - along with Nathan Cleary, James Tedesco, Luke Keary and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

The softly spoken Dunamis Lui is the quintessential family man - even going as far as driving his biggest boy, aka Papalii, to practice and also making him lunch.

Gumboot-wearing Corey Harawira-Naera could be mistaken for a character from Footrot Flats, while Hudson Young's reputation can easily distract from what he's really like.

They're up against a Storm pack that's equally feared, boasting Jesse Bromwich, Christian Welch, man-mountain Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Gold Coast-bound Tino Fa'asuamaleaui.

Soliola said they'll be a massive challenge as just 80 minutes separates each team from the NRL grand final.

The former Kiwi international has loved the rise of Young, which saw the 22-year-old start in the front row for the first time - against back-to-back reigning premiers Sydney Roosters last weekend no less.

He starred too, running for 136 metres, as well as making a linebreak and 34 tackles as he too seems to get better with every week.

Soliola saw the green shoots of that on the training paddock - when the summer sun helped Young and fellow young bull Corey Horsburgh get a little hot under the collar.

"Those two have gone at it in the off-season a couple of times. There were a couple of drills where they almost squared off at training," Soliola laughed.

"It's good. Especially being an old boy it's really entertaining. That's what I love about Huddo, he doesn't take a backwards step.

"[Raiders coach Ricky Stuart] will challenge him throughout the week and Hudson's not one to shy away from giving his best for the group."

Tapine's another who's been excelling at the right time of the season.

The Kiwi international scored a brilliant solo try against the Roosters and it seems the power of positive thinking played a big part - thanks to his wife Kirsten.

"My missus just gets feelings through the week, 'I've got a good feeling' she said all week," Tapine said.

"And that just helps me with my mindset you know, positive vibes around the house - going to training, going to games.

"So I asked her to have the same positivity this week - it's going to be another tough game."

NRL PRELIMINARY FINAL

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium, 7.50pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Semi Valemei 3. Jarrod Croker (c) 4. Jordan Rapana 5. Nick Cotric 6. Jack Wighton 7. George Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Tom Starling 10. Sia Soliola 11. John Bateman 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili 15. Dunamis Lui 16. Hudson Young 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams 19. Matt Timoko 20. Ryan Sutton 21. Michael Oldfield.

Storm squad: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. Brenko Lee 4. Justin Olam 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Nelson Asofa-Solomona. Interchange: 14. Brandon Smith 15. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 16. Tom Eisenhuth 17. Nicholas Hynes. Reserves: 18. Dale Finucane 19. Paul Momirovski 20. Ryley Jacks 21. Chris Lewis.