Warriors’ secret weapon is determined to be a very fast learner
Going into this season, it wasn’t a case if Eliesa Katoa would make his National Rugby League debut, but when.
However, for the 20-year-old to make his first appearance for the Warriors in the opening game of the season, after playing just nine games of league in his life is beyond everybody’s expectations.
Katoa has been given the No 16 jersey for the Warriors’ game against the Knights in Newcastle tomorrow and while to outsiders it may be a surprise that he’s in the team already, talk to anyone at the club and they’ll tell you he’s earned his spot.
‘‘He’s wanting to learn,’’ Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said of Katoa.
‘‘He’s a big lad, he’s very athletic for a big man but also he has a real capacity to want to learn.
‘‘He’s pretty raw but you wouldn’t think so and that’s a credit to him because he’s taken on all the information the coaches are giving him.
‘‘I’ve been super impressed, without putting any pressure on the kid. I’ve seen a few kids and he’s a good one.’’
Katoa trained the house down over the pre-season, sometimes showing up more experienced players with his determination to keep pushing himself and while he may be raw, at 193cm tall and 110kg, he packs a punch that will have other NRL clubs wondering where this kid came from.
Katoa is destined to make a big impression in league, but it’s still a sport he’s getting to grips with.
‘‘I finished school two years ago, was straight into the club and the thing for me was to learn the game,’’ Katoa said of his conversion to league.
‘‘Growing up I was a rugby player and never thought I’d play league in my life, but things happened.’’
Katoa picked up a shoulder injury last year and needed an operation, so he only got to play seven games for the under 20s team. He used that time to understand league as much as he could.
But he said he wasn’t happy with how much he progressed and was determined to make big strides during the pre-season.
‘‘Last year was about learning the game for me and after the season I said to myself ‘did I have a good season’?’’
‘‘There were a few things that I could have done better and that’s what motivated me. I’d look at the other boys and think that if they can do it, so can I.
‘‘So I decided that from the start of the pre-season, with everything I do, I’ll do it better than before.’’
Katoa says the basics are similar, comparing playing in the back row of rugby, to the second row in league and it all still comes down to going hard.
‘‘In rugby, you just get the ball and run and that’s the same in league,’’ he said.
‘‘But when I started playing league there were some little technical things that I didn’t think it was important to learn about, like how to wrestle on the ground and stuff like that.
‘‘So now I know what you’ve got to do in league. I play in the second row and on the edge I’ve got to run hard and tackle hard, that’s my key job.’’
Katoa, who lived in Tonga until he was 17, was given a scholarship by Tamaki College and played No 8 or blindside flanker there before he was snapped up by the Warriors.
Katoa’s father passed away in 2011, but his mother and other family members remain in Tonga and no doubt it will be a proud moment for all of them to see him make his NRL debut this weekend.
‘‘I’ve got to run hard and tackle hard, that’s my key job.’’ Eliesa Katoa