So much so, the aforementioned Stuart believes he could lead his country.

They're words that will no doubt carry weight with New Zealand coach Michael Maguire, who played with Stuart at the Green Machine back in the day.

Tapine's headed into Kiwis camp to prepare for their test against Tonga and goes in with career-best form.

His powerful running, combined with late stepping, have taken him to be one of the best in the world.

"The change in Joe is the reaction and change of speed in his game," Stuart said.

"I know our defence coaches have been working tirelessly with him on that over the last three or four years.

"His maturity, not just as a person, but in getting games and [he can play] really good minutes now and he can handle it.

"I think he's got the ability to lead New Zealand at some stage of his career. He's growing in regards to his leadership and the standards he's setting for himself and a lot of our younger players.

"We've got a lot of good under-21 players playing second grade at the moment and I know a lot those boys, especially the Polynesian boys, they look up to Joe.

"I tell Joe this. I'm really excited for him the way he's playing."

Raiders star five-eighth Jack Wighton is on the road to recovery after a tough few days with COVID-19.

Stuart said Wighton sounded much better on Sunday having chatted to him before the game.

It's forced Wighton out of Origin II after he was clearly NSW's best in the series opener.

The 2020 Dally M Medallist would've been the first player Stuart would've picked for the Blues as they look to try and level the series in Perth next Sunday.

"Poor bugger it's come at a really bad time, especially how well he played in Origin I," Stuart said.

"I spoke to him this morning and I think he might be over the real illness of the COVID. He's had a fair bit of body pain and aches. He sounded pretty good on the phone this morning."

The Raiders' spine has been in constant upheaval this campaign, with Stuart only able to field the same four players in those key positions in two games so far this year.

That will continue with hopefully Wighton returning after the representative bye round, but fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad should also be back in the selection mix to face the St George Illawarra Dragons at Wollongong on July 3.

"I should be back next game," he told The Canberra Times in the corridor after the game.

Gastro might've hindered Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga against the Raiders, but Knights coach Adam O'Brien thinks he's over the worst of it and would be right to pull on the Queensland jersey in Perth next Sunday.

"He'll be on top of it now. It's probably at its peak I'd say. The doctors are with him now and they've just got to get the fluids back up and get some food in there to get some energy back into him now," he said.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: