Having won the battle of the bulge, Canberra enforcer Josh Papalii is now aiming to reclaim his hard-hitting best and his Maroons jersey.

After being a shadow of his former self last year, he stripped the kilos off his frame in the off-season and it appeared to pay immediate dividends as he put in a strong performance in the Raiders’ upset 24-20 win over Cronulla in their NRL round-one clash at Remondis Stadium on Sunday.

By his own admission, Papalii’s 2014 was a “big disappointment” after struggling with his weight.

At one point the back-rower demoted himself to Queensland Cup and was dropped from Mal Meninga’s Queensland Origin team the following game.

After beginning last year at 116kg, Papalii has slimmed down to 111kg and says he is already feeling the difference.

“For me (the pre-season) has been all about running,” he said.

“The year before I came back overweight and it was something I needed to improve … There were a lot of distractions off the field (last year) that I let get to me.

“I guess on the field was a big disappointment for myself, hopefully I can have a big season this year.”

Papalii did end 2014 earning a spot in the Australian Four Nations squad, but was only granted a berth following a host of big-name withdrawals and, by his own admission, he was lucky to get that green and gold jumper.

Asked if he was being motivated by a return to the Origin arena, he said: “At this moment, not now. I was lucky enough to be a part of the Four Nations squad, which I didn’t see myself as getting in.

“I guess I’ve just got to train hard and play some decent footy first.”