The Canberra Raiders enforcer is not only the most experienced Queenslander with 15 Origin appearances, but he's also equal with the Blues' most experienced campaigner in Boyd Cordner.

That experience will be crucial in leading a young Maroons pack against the more-fancied NSW in the series opener at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.

Papalii has established himself as the best prop in the world over the past two seasons and his leadership and go-forward will be crucial to the Queensland cause.

Raiders greats Glenn Lazarus and Gary Coyne said he was the cornerstone of the underdogs' hopes of breaking NSW's two-series winning streak.

It's that underdog status that concerns Blues legend Lazarus the most - the Maroons embrace it and lift like no others.

He also felt the six-again rule, combined with the unknown factor of a non-traditional Origin crowd in Adelaide would make it a gripping contest.

Not to mention the mix of players - some haven't played for four weeks, some have just won the NRL grand final and others have just lost it.

"He showed you how important he was for Canberra and he's really important for Queensland," Lazarus said.

"Obviously there's a lot of inexperience in that Queensland side and he'll provide that leadership and guidance.

"Joshy just leads with his skill on the field. I don't think he has a lot to say on the field, but he certainly leads by example with the way he carries the ball and turns up in defence.

"He's a real key for Queensland because he's proven over the years he's quite capable at Origin level."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

Coyne felt the forwards was an area where the Queenslanders had the upperhand.

Alongside Papalii is Melbourne prop Christian Welch, who was part of the Storm's premiership just days ago, and Jai Arrow, who joins South Sydney next year.

It had the Raiders premiership star confident the Maroons could pull off an upset.

And Coyne said the smiles on the Queensland players' faces when they talked about Papalii said it all.

"He's the linchpin, he's the cornerstone of everything the Queenslanders will build around I believe, because he's the form front-rower of the competition," Coyne said.

"He probably has been for the last couple of years anyway.

"He's in great form, he's leading the way and the guys not only love following him they love playing with him and that's a big tick to have on your resume when your teammates are wanting to play with you.

"He's playing great footy and that's obvious the season he's had with the Raiders.

"I know Josh will want to play well for Queensland as well so hopefully he'll carry that form over.

"I listen to the guys speak up here and everyone's got a smile on their face when they mention Josh Papalii. That's a great sign."

Papalii has made a habit of scoring crucial tries for the Raiders over the past two seasons, quite often the winning one - think South Sydney in the preliminary final last year and he's also making it a habit against the Roosters and the Storm.

He levelled the scores with a try in Origin III last season, only for Blues fullback James Tedesco to score an amazing four-pointer to win the series in the dying seconds.

Former Raiders teammate David Shillington felt that try-scoring power could prove the difference during Origin.

"He's got some very broad shoulders Papa and he needs them to carry those teams forward," Shillington said.

"He gets that wrecking ball mindset about him where he takes those good runs from 10-15 metres out and pumps up the team with some good, dominant shots.

"In the Origin arena they're going to need his aggression in defence and if he can crash over for a try, or two if we're lucky, that could put Queensland back in the game or on the front foot ... and give them that shot in the arm they need."

STATE OF ORIGIN

Wednesday: Queensland Maroons v NSW Blues at Adelaide Oval, 8.10pm.