The Canberra Raiders second-rower was already one of his top three players whose injury absence contributed to their only Origin loss last year.

North Queensland prop Scott tore his anterior cruciate ligament in their cliffhanger against the Brisbane Broncos last weekend, ruling the Maroons veteran out of this year's Origin campaign.

Papalii's versatility, size, power and skill mean he can not only be a battering ram up the middle, but is also equalling damaging on the edges, where he plays for the Raiders in the NRL.

With Scott out, Papalii could be called on to do more grunt work up, but Walters said he liked the Green Machine second-rower's work out wide as well.

He was full of praise for Papalii's first two Origins last year, when the Maroons wrapped up the series, and said his absence from the third due to a hip injury played a part in them losing the dead rubber.

"Regardless of the Matt Scott injury, Josh is always high on the list for us from a Queensland point of view," Walters said.

"Certainly we missed him in game three of last year, that was pretty clear to everyone, without his presence.

"I just think he's really matured over the last 18 months as a player. He's more consistent with his football.

"I thought he was in our top-two or three players in games one and two of last year's series. He's got a big future ahead of him from an Origin point of view."

Walters was unsure how he'd use Papalii this year, but had been impressed with the way the softly spoken Queenslander had started the season.

Papalii showed how dangerous his footwork can be with a delightful step that led to fullback Zac Santo scoring his first NRL try.

"We're not sure of the make-up yet, where we'll actually play him. We'll just see how we go over the next five or six weeks with players and their form," Walters said.

"I like what he does on the edge for the Raiders, he's certainly hard to handle out there and gets through a lot of work as well.

"But he's also one of those guys that can handle the middle part of the field equally as dominant as well. It's a pretty big asset for us as a Queensland team for Josh to be able to do that.

"He's a powerful runner and good on his feet, and defensively as well. He's a valuable member of our side and the Raiders."

NRL ROUND THREE

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, 4pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.

Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Luke Bateman. Interchange: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Sia Soliola, 16. Clay Priest, 17. Dave Taylor. Reserves: 18. Jordan Turner, 19. Dunamis Lui, 20. Jeff Lima, 21. Scott Sorensen.

Tigers squad: 1. James Tedesco, 2. David Nofoaluma, 3. Kevin Naiqama, 4. Michael Chee-Kam, 5. Moses Suli, 6. Mitchell Moses, 7. Luke Brooks, 8. Aaron Woods (c), 9. Matt McIlwrick, 10. Ava Seumanufagai, 11. Sausao Sue, 12. Chris Lawrence, 13. Elijah Taylor. Interchange: 14. Tim Grant, 15. Josh Aloiai, 16. Joel Edwards, 17. Jack Littlejohn. Reserves: 18. Junior Tatola, 19. Justin Hunt, 20. Kyle Lovett, 21. Matt Ballin.