Season in Review: Eli Katoa

In his first season in the purple jersey, Eli Katoa certainly made a lasting and exciting impression. 

Katoa showcased what was in store right from the beginning, scoring against his former team in Melbourne Storm’s passion-filled pre-season challenge against the New Zealand Warriors. 

From there, the 23-year-old went on to make an early Storm debut, inducted as player #226 ahead of Round 1. Quickly cementing his place as a reliable second-rower, the Tongan’s first NRL Premiership try for Storm was not too far off, coming in Round 12. 

After celebrating his 50th first-grade game in Round 4, the rugby union junior rounded out his first season in purple with a total six tries, 12 line-breaks, 5 line-break assists, 19 offloads, 586 tackles and 2,141 total run metres. 

Katoa’s efforts for the year did not go unnoticed outside of the Club, with the forward recently named in the Tongan squad for his first representative appearance, taking on England in a three-game test throughout October and November.