He’s Nathan Cleary’s favourite player. Meet the man next in line for NSW No.7 jersey
Nathan Cleary relished the chance to spend a couple of days training with the young man widely regarded as his successor as NSW No.7, describing him as “my favourite player to watch in the comp at the moment”.
The Blues are focused solely on winning next Wednesday’s Origin decider in Sydney, but the decision to invite Isaiya Katoa into their inner sanctum is proof they are already planning for long-term success.
Katoa, 21, has been outstanding for the Dolphins this year, and while he already knew Cleary from his days coming through the grades at the Panthers, was never going to pass on the chance to pick the brain of the game’s best player.
The pair spent nearly ten minutes chatting at the end of Wednesday’s training session in the Blue Mountains. They spoke more on Thursday before Katoa raced back to Brisbane in time for Dolphins training on Friday.
“He’s my favourite player to watch in the comp at the moment,” Cleary said of Katoa on Thursday. “He came through the Penrith junior system, so I got to know him a little bit there, and always knew he had the talent, and would amount to great things.
“But how quickly he’s done it, it’s been incredible. The things he’s doing this year have been unbelievable, especially for someone his age. He’s great to watch, and a great kid as well.
The future and present NSW No. 7: Isaiya Katoa rubs shoulders with Nathan Cleary at NSW training.Credit: Grant Trouville/NRL Images
“His squareness to the line, his subtleties with the ball and his deception, I honestly reckon it’s the best in the comp. He’s shown that on a number of occasions this year with his ball playing.
“The way he’s going at the moment, he could do anything. I rate him very highly. He’s among the premier No. 7s in the comp already, and he’s only going to get better. He’s got a good work ethic and understanding of the game.
“We had a general chat about footy. He loves his footy, like me, and we were breaking down what we saw in the game. It was cool to rub shoulders with him [this week], and he fitted in well.”
The Blues held an opposed session against St Marys’ Ron Massey Cup team, which included recently-retired Eels back-rower Bryce Cartwright and assistant coach Craig Gower, the legendary Penrith, NSW and Australian halfback – who was also a huge fan of Katoa.
“I was with the [Penrith] Flegg at the time, he came up to fill in and do some stuff, but you could see he was a class above then, and someone who had so much time on his hands,” Gower said.
“We’ve seen what he’s been able to do, and even this year, some of the plays he’s come up with have been outstanding.
“It’s good to see him in this environment. It will benefit him. He’s got the quality to play [for NSW]. He’s also got a great player in front of him at the moment. But he’ll push his case moving forward [later in his career].”
Fellow Blues utility Connor Watson said of Katoa: “He’s so talented, and the way he plays with tempo, tells lies with his body language and eyes, we got to see a bit of it on Thursday, which was cool. He’s a crafty dude with a big future.”
Cleary and Luai trained with the main squad on Thursday, with Brian To’o and Payne Haas the only pair to be kept on restricted duties. To’o is battling a knee injury, while Haas has dealt with a chronic back problem all year, but the winger and front-rower are expected to return to full training on Saturday. Even if they do not, Blues medicos expect them to play at Accor Stadium.
NSW will hold their main session in Leura on Saturday.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.