How Cronulla flyer Sione Katoa overcame tears and doubts to crack the NRL

There were times when Sione Katoa came to John Morris in tears because of the pressures of making it to the top. Now he’s the rising star of the Cronulla backline.

Cronulla's Sione Katoa scores a controversial try during the Cronulla Sharks v Canberra Raiders NRL match at Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla. Picture: Brett Costello

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John Morris remembers the first time he laid eyes on a young Sione Katoa. Katoa doubts if he would still be playing rugby league had he not impressed his would-be coach in a suburban field at Blacktown in 2015.
Back then Katoa was a willing fullback for Parramatta’s SG Ball side and Morris was in his first year of retirement forging his own coaching path with Cronulla’s junior representative program. Katoa finished that season unwanted at the Eels and feared his rugby league career was over before it began. So worried was the softly spoken Katoa he had arranged to meet with the NSW Waratahs just days before the Sharks came knocking.

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“After SG Ball I thought I was going no where and that no-one wanted me,” Katoa said. “I was really scared thinking I wasn’t going to play. I thought about stopping playing league and was close to giving it all up. That week I was supposed to meet up with the Waratahs but the last minute I called it off and had a meeting with the Sharks because I really wanted to play league.
“I was really nervous and skinny. I didn’t feel that strong. There were about eight wingers that year and I was skinny kid from Parramatta.
“I always look back at what happened then after being close to stop playing league. Now a couple of years later I’m playing NRL.”
Morris clearly remembers the first time he laid eyes on Katoa. He tracked Katoa for the rest of that SG Ball season and had no hesitation in telling the Sharks to sign him on a two-year deal. Morris would go on to coach Katoa in the under-20s where Morris was named coach of the under-20s team of the year and Katoa on the wing.

Katoa has locked down a spot on Cronulla’s left wing. Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images.

“I was the blue shirt trainer for Cronulla’s SG Ball team and in our round one game we played against Parramatta,” Morris said. “Sione was blitzing it and we couldn’t get a hand on him. When you’re out there you could see how good he was.”
Katoa was named in the under-20s team of the year alongside the likes of Kalyn Ponga, Payne Haas, AJ Brimson having scored 23 tries, 239 tackle busts and 36 line breaks. Morris said there was a time though when Katoa was struggling with the demands of working and trying to crack it in the NRL.
“He is such a humble quietly spoken kid but a hardworking kids who has made so many sacrifices,” Morris said. “I’ve had him in tears in my office because he was finding it so hard to make ends meet. “I had to put a plan around him about doing less training so he could work more. He was doing shift work at the airport and was living an hour away. He would work, have an hour or two off and then come to training and then do it all again. He was playing footy on next to no dollars and a lot of his money was going to his family.

Morris has played a big part in Katoa’s career.

“He was gone. But he was a really good kid and I wanted to help him. He did some more work and less training.
“Now here he is as an NRL player on good money. He is hassle free and a really coachable. I’m really happy for him. It’s a great story.”
Morris presented Katoa with his NRL debut jersey ahead of round one last year. Katoa’s joy was short-lived when the 21-year-old broke his jaw in his first game. He returned to play eight more top grade games — and extend his contract until the end of next year — before Morris handed him a start on the wing again this year.
Katoa said he was “nervous” about his position before Morris named him in the round one team.
“Playing round one this year I had to be confident and act like I belong here and fit in around the boys,” Katoa said. “I had to learn that the last couple of weeks.”

Originally published as How Cronulla flyer Sione Katoa overcame tears and doubts to crack the NRL