<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>328378</docID> <postdate>2024-09-04 15:23:49</postdate> <headline>Tapine puts hand up to be Raiders’ full-time captain</headline> <body><p><img class="wp-image-328379" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20230304001771025398-original-1.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="591" /></p> <caption>Joe Tapine (right) is keen to take over the Raiders' captaincy on a full-time basis. (Scott Radford-Chisholm/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p class="wire-column__preview__author"><span class="kicker-line">By <b>Jacob Shteyman</b> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Joe Tapine has been building to this moment for years.</strong></p> <p>When he signed a four-year extension with the Canberra Raiders in 2022, the New Zealand enforcer turned down bigger money offers elsewhere to stay with the club he loves.</p> <p>At the time he said he one day hoped to become captain.</p> <p>With departing skipper Elliott Whitehead suspended from Canberra's season-ending clash with St George Illawarra on Saturday, Tapine will be handed the captaincy.</p> <p>The 30-year-old thinks he is now ready to hold on to it on a permanent basis.</p> <p>"I've been taking the last couple years behind Elliott, learning bits and pieces from what he does as captain and putting it into my game, but I've still got a lot to learn," Tapine said.</p> <p>"I'll be very open-minded on my learning process in the next year or two."</p> <p>The mobile prop forward has been one of the Raiders' most consistent players in recent years, winning the Meninga Medal for the club's best player two seasons running. And he's a good chance of winning it this year as well.</p> <p>But one aspect of his leadership he thinks still needs improving is the way he talks to referees.</p> <p>Tapine was given a yellow card by referee Grant Atkins for dissent in the Raiders' 46-24 loss to Manly in August after a disagreement over a tackle on halfback Jamal Fogarty.</p> <p>"It's just the competitiveness I think, but I'll have to change a bit on that," he said.</p> <p>That's something he can learn from captain Whitehead, who is a constant fixture in the ref's earpiece.</p> <p>Another senior member of the Canberra forward pack who will be looking to step up in Whitehead's absence is Hudson Young, also considered a potential future captain.</p> <p>He hit back at Sydney coach Trent Robinson, who accused Whitehead of a history of hip-drop tackles after a tackle on Roosters hooker Brandon Smith injured his knee and ruled him out of the rest of the season.</p> <p>"There's things in the game that you can't control and sometimes accidents happen," Young said.</p> <p>"I don't think Elliott's a dirty player at all. I think he's probably one of the toughest players I've seen play or play with.</p> <p>"So yeah, I'm not too sure where that's come from. It seems you get suspended once, and then you get labelled that."</p> </body>