KEY POINTS:
Young frontrower Sam Rapira can't quite believe he's headed to a playoff series in his first full season in the National Rugby League.
Rapira, 20, has been an ever-present for the New Zealand Warriors this year after making his first-grade debut midway through last season.
Qualifying for the finals had been a goal for 2007, but now that the Warriors had got there he was still pinching himself.
"It's a pretty unreal experience," he said.
"First of all being part of the team, and then being part of a team that makes the semifinals is pretty exciting."
The Warriors face Penrith in Sydney on Saturday night and are looking for a win to finish in fourth spot and seal home advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Hamilton-born Rapira is one of four Warriors to have appeared in every match of a campaign that has seen the club reached the finals for the first time in four years.
The others are centre Simon Mannering, lock Micheal Luck and hooker Nathan Fien.
In recent weeks, coach Ivan Cleary has made Rapira a regular in his run-on 13, something the prop admitted was a challenge.
"It's a lot harder starting," he said.
"But the coach has put me there. He wants me to do a job, so I just have to put my hand up and do it the best I can."
A Junior Kiwi skipper, Rapira added another string to his bow by getting his first cap for New Zealand in the Anzac test.
He said having the vast experience of fellow forwards Steve Price and Ruben Wiki around him at the Warriors had been invaluable in his development.
"It's just little things, like watching Steve when I'm on the bench or at training," he said.
"I try to learn from him and Ruben - just how they carry the ball, how they tackle."
Rapira said the next step up for him was to have more of an influence during his time on the field.
"I need to get more involved, whether it's taking more hit-ups, or doing more tackles, and just being mentally tough."
This month, he signed one of the NRL's longest contracts by committing himself to the Warriors until 2012.
It wasn't a difficult decision, he said, because he was enjoying the environment.
"This is home and I would rather be here than anywhere else," he said.
"It's just the way the club is, the staff, the players, the coach. It's all happy, so it was easy for me to choose."
Price, part of two premiership-winning campaigns with the Bulldogs, said the experience Rapira was about to gain could only help him and the Warriors in the future.
"I think it's a true testament to the club, signing a guy like Sam Rapira for five years," he said.
"If he can get a taste of the semifinals now, it will hold the club in very good stead for the type of culture we're trying to build here."
- NZPA
