HSC, World Cup and Wayne: The Tongan teen Penrith dropped for linking with Bennett

Tongan teen sensation Isaiya Katoa is eyeing a round one NRL debut to follow a wild month that has him on the cusp of a Tongan Test debut just weeks after graduating from high school.

Katoa is regarded as one of the best schoolboy talents in the country and made headlines earlier this year when Penrith left him out of their junior teams once he’d signed a three-year deal with the Dolphins from 2023.

After being wooed by Wayne Bennett and signing just weeks after his 18th birthday, the Panthers made no apologies for prioritising other youngsters committed to the club beyond this season.

Katoa was left to find game time with his local Glenmore Brumbies side and play schoolboy rugby at Barker College but was still called into Tonga’s mid-year Test squad.

Kristian Woolf has since called Katoa into his World Cup touring party as back-up to Talatau Amone and Tui Lolohea, with a Tongan debut looming during the island nation’s pool games, potentially as early as next week against Papua New Guinea.

Katoa is still completing his HSC exams while in camp with the Tongan outfit after finishing his year 12 studies late last month.

It comes after Penrith relented on their stance and recalled Katoa for a thrilling extra time Jersey Flegg grand final win over Newcastle – in which he kicked the winning field goal – a chance the youngster feared he’d never get after “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made”.

Isaiya Katoa playing for Penrith.Credit: NRL Images

“Penrith’s always been my home, I’m a local boy so to leave was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made, but I knew it was the best decision for myself,” Katoa said, well-aware premiership-winning halves Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai aren’t going anywhere.

“It was very tough for me. But there’s a great opportunity to go to the Dolphins and be coached by Wayne Bennett.

“That’s every kid’s dream as a footy player – to be coached and mentored by one of the best, that’s what I’m excited for.

“They got in contact with my manager and one week later organised a Zoom [meeting] with Wayne, [CEO] Terry Reader and [recruitment manager] Peter O’Sullivan over there and it just took off from there.

“Straight away, a week later, my manager and the Dolphins were in discussions, and it all happened really quick.”

Katoa harbours no ill feeling toward the Panthers for their stance during the year, and at one point felt he “didn’t deserve” an SG Ball recall because it meant another player would miss out.

“For them to call me back, it meant a lot to me,” he said.

For Bennett to come calling and continue checking in throughout the year has done Katoa’s self-belief a world of good, with the youngster targeting the club’s inaugural NRL outing for his own debut.

Fellow Panthers playmaker Sean O’Sullivan and Samoan five-eighth Anthony Milford shape as the Dolphins’ most likely round one halves pairing.

But given the esteem good judges hold Katoa in, not least Bennett and Woolf (who takes up a Dolphins assistant/successor role after the World Cup), the youngster’s time will come soon enough.

“I’m aiming for round one, but I know that as a young kid, I don’t need to rush anything,” Katoa said.

“I’ll just take my time, work hard in the pre-season and let my actions do the talking.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity for me as a kid just finishing school and going straight into a professional environment, I’m very fortunate.”

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