Queensland’s comeback king Josh Papalii became one of the stories of the year when his side won an unlikely State of Origin decider on Wednesday night, but it was his young son Noah who fans fell in love with after the game.

Papalii, by his own admission, was “happily retired” from Origin football when he received four missed called from Maroons coach Billy Slater in the leadup to game three.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Origin hero’s young son steals the show after Maroons win.

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Having not played any representative footy in years, the 33-year-old eventually answered the call and agreed to make a comeback.

It was a return that developed into a fairytale by the final whistle at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night, with Papalii joining skipper Cameron Munster on stage to hold up the shield after his side claimed a shock 24-12 win to claim the series 2-1.

Even sweeter for the father-of-four was that his son, Noah, could be there to see him lift it.

“My family means everything to me,” Papalii told Nine after the game as Noah joined him in a hug during the interview.

“There are three things I care about: that’s my faith, my family and obviously this jersey.

“So glad my son’s old enough to realise what dad’s doing, and hopefully I’m here in 20 years supporting him.”

Emma Lawrence then kneeled down to ask Noah a question about his dad, but the youngster was thinking about his newborn sibling at home.

“Just worried about the baby at home so my dad could see him and hug him,” he said.

Lawrence was taken aback at the youngster’s thoughtfulness.

“You’re a very good big brother, well done. Very, very, very beautiful heart you have, Noah,” she said.

“You’ve raised beautiful children, big Papa, well done.”

Papalii’s wife Mesepa Salesa gave birth to their fourth child late last month, but gave her blessing for her Canberra Raiders star husband to play for his NRL club instead of being there for the birth.

Jeremiah Papalii was welcomed into the world just hours before kick-off between the Raiders and Knights in Round 17.

Speaking after the June 27 game, Raiders coach lauded Mesepa for the sacrifice of allowing Papalii to play.

“The reason I have Paps here today, an unbelievable sacrifice from Sepa — Josh’s wife — who had a baby boy this afternoon, Jeremiah,” Stuart said at the time.

“It was always going to be touch and go whether Sepa could hang on or what not, but she wanted Josh to go away and play.

“It was an unbelievable sacrifice from a new mother.”

Wednesday night capped an extraordinary fortnight for Papalii, who never thought he’d be in a Maroon jersey again.

“It’s an honour and a privilege to represent this beautiful state,” he said after the game.

“I was happily retired until Billy gave me the call.

“I still had that fire in the belly for this jersey, and I’m so glad I came back and just being a part of this great win — (I’m) lost for words.

“I think that’s why I had a tear in the eye.

“Like I said before, I was happily retired, I didn’t see myself coming back at all. Just the encouragement of my wife to come back and give it one last go, and just the support of all the boys and the staff — we pulled it off tonight.”

Papali’i hadn’t played Origin since 2022, instead focusing on his club football in Canberra’s stellar campaign that’s put them top of the NRL ladder.

His strong form, and the Maroons’ need for a cool head in the middle prompted Slater’s call for help.

“I was terrified that he was going to say ‘sorry Bill, my days are done’ but within a couple of words, I felt he still had that fire in him,” Slater said.

“His wife Sepa had a baby boy the week before, and there were a few complications, and the big fella slept in a hospital chair for a couple of nights, his priority was being a dad and making sure his family was okay.

“That first 15 minutes, he just laid that platform for the rewards to come.”