[2] Her son, Isaiah, is a New Zealand and Samoan rugby league international.
[3] In 1994, Papali'i made her Test debut for New Zealand while playing for the Richmond Rovers.
[4] She was later a member of New Zealand's successful 2000 and 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads.
[3] On 1 August 2018, Papali'i came out of retirement and was named in the New Zealand Warriors NRL Women's Premiership squad.
[5] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Warriors in a 10–4 win over the Sydney Roosters.