Inside Isaiah Iongi’s rise to NRL stardom, from the Panthers to the Parramatta Eels

He was brought to Penrith on a two-year deal worth just $14,000, but now it’s Parramatta who is reaping the rewards, not the Panthers. This is the story behind Isaiah Iongi’s rise to NRL stardom.

Ben Harden was the man who stumbled across Isaiah Iongi. Almost by accident as well. During the heart of Covid a few years back, with cutbacks commonplace across the game, Harden’s duties at Penrith stretched from pathways manager, to Jersey Flegg coach and recruitment boss.

Harden, now the Panthers’ NSW Cup coach, had been tipped off about a young bloke at the North Devils in the Queensland Colts competition by the name of Jack Garod and as he watched him go about his business, his eye was drawn to another teenager who came off the interchange bench.

That bloke was Iongi.

“He was playing everywhere - 14 off the bench, five-eighth, hooker,” Harden said.

“He was a hooker one week, fullback the next. He was green and raw, but he just went for the contest. As he plays now, right.

“You have seen his kick returns, that is what he was always like - that fearless mentality.

“I found out who his manager was. He had zero interest (from other clubs).

“He had never had anyone talk to him. His manager said, ‘He will come down’. And his mum moved down with him.

“I signed him on a two year deal - I think it was like $6000 and $8000 for two years.”

That $14,000 was money well spent, although it is Parramatta rather than Penrith who are now enjoying the spoils.

Isaiah Iongi has burst onto the NRL scene for Parramatta in 2025. Picture: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous

BEING PATIENT

Iongi spent three seasons at Penrith honing his craft. In 2022 he started the season in Jersey Flegg and finished it in NSW Cup.

In ’23 and ’24, he became a fixture in the Cup side at fullback.

“The three years he was here I don’t remember him missing a game, maybe not even a training session,” Harden said.

“Very durable, reliable. He’s a laidback customer, very chilled. I always thought he had good fullback attributes. It is always good to find a fullback who can tackle.

“Not many guys think of recruiting fullbacks who are good tacklers, but they have to save tries too. If you look at Dylan Edwards, his tackling is elite.”

Iongi could easily have left Penrith before he did. His rapid ascent caught the eye of rival clubs but he was happy to bide his time and play the long game.

“He has sacrificed a lot,” Harden said.

Iongi spent three years at the Penrith Panthers, playing just one first grade game. Picture: Getty Images

“To move down here, not know anyone at 18 or 19. I coached him for his two years of Cup in ’23 and ’24.

“He is awesome to coach, He could have easily gone to another club two years ago. He would have only been just in the top 30 this year - he was on development last year.

“I don’t remember any agitation from him. Just happy to run his own race, get better every day. He was almost like, ‘My footy will do the talking, it will work itself out’.

“And it has. It’s a good lesson for all young players - don’t be in a rush to get there because you can be easily spat back out.”

THE EELS SWOOP

Iongi made his lone first grade appearance for Penrith last year against Newcastle. He didn’t let anyone down.

Iongi ran for 171 metres and made five tackle busts as the Panthers beat the Knights.

A few days later, he, his mum and his manager Nash Dawson sat down for a meeting with Parramatta coach Jason Ryles at a cafe in Brighton le Sands.

Ryles and Dawson did most of the talking. Iongi sat quietly and listened as Ryles laid out his vision for the club and how Iongi fitted into his plans.

The Eels still had Clint Gutherson on their books at the time but Ryles wanted more speed and a long-term No.1 given Blaize Talagi was about to take up an offer from Penrith.

Iongi was already breaking tackles in the Under 7’s in the Wests Arana Hills junior league in Queensland

“He didn’t say too much but we chatted about footy a bit,” Ryles said.

“He is a pretty quiet kid, until you get to know him. And then he has a personality.

“We needed a fullback. We thought Blaize might have been an option but when he left, we had Iongi on the radar. (Parramatta recruitment boss) Benny Rogers was tracking him …. and then he brought him to my attention.

“We had planned to meet him with Nash and it just happened that when the meeting was booked, a week later his first grade debut was on the Sunday and we were meeting him on the Monday.

“He played three years of Cup so he had a lot of experience. Then just his speed and the way he moved around the ground - that was what caught our eye.

“That Penrith system accelerated him too. We didn’t know he was going to kick so quickly.”

Clint Gutherson’s move to the Dragongs opened the path for Iongi to become a regular first grader. Picture: Getty Images

HONING HIS CRAFT

Gutherson’s departure in the off-season removed the final impediment to Iongi owning the No.1 jersey at Parramatta, although Ryles was heading down that path anyway.

Gutherson was about to be shunted to a new role to accommodate the club’s incoming signing and rather than shift aside, he opted to leave for a long-term deal at St George Illawarra.

Iongi has vindicated the Eels’ faith by becoming a fixture in the first grade side this season. So well has he played heading into Saturday’s game against Gutherson and St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium, he is one of the leading contenders for the Dally M rookie of the year award.

“He just gets better every week,” Ryles said.

“Obviously he has moments, but it doesn’t phase him. He moves on pretty quickly.

“We knew as soon as we saw him move early on that potentially we had something on our hands here that is going to be good for us long term.

“Like anything, pre-season can seduce you a bit. When he played, even early on, there were just little incremental improvements over time.

“By his own admission he has a long way to go and he is a good learner. He hasn’t been perfect but I have gone in with an expectation that it’s not going to be perfect.

“This is our long-term fullback and I am going to stick to it.”

Originally published as Inside Isaiah Iongi’s rise to NRL stardom, from the Panthers to the Parramatta Eels