Sione Katoa
Personal information
Born (1997-08-21) 21 August 1997
Hamilton, New Zealand
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018– Cronulla Sharks 89 59 1 0 238
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019 Tonga 9s 3 1 1 0 6
2022 Tonga 5 2 0 0 8
Source: [1]
As of 9 September 2023

Sione Katoa (born 21 August 1997) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays on the wing for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL.

Background

Katoa was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and is of Tongan descent.[2] Katoa moved to Sydney, Australia in 2003 aged 6.[3]

He played his junior rugby league for the Chester Hill Hornets.

Katoa was part of the Parramatta Eels junior systems before being signed by the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[4]

Katoa playing for the Cronulla Sharks in 2017

Katoa played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NYC team in 2016–2017, scoring 44 tries in 49 matches.[5] On 4 September 2017, Katoa was named on the wing in the 2017 Holden Cup Team of the Year.[6]

Playing career

2018

After impressing in the pre-season trials for the Sharks, Katoa had beaten the likes of Edrick Lee and Aaron Gray to the vacant wing spot for Round 1.[7] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, Katoa made his NRL debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the North Queensland Cowboys, starting on the wing and had a solid performance before leaving the field with a suspected broken jaw in the second half as the Sharks were defeated 20–14 at 1300SMILES Stadium.[8][9]

Katoa ended the season playing for Cronulla's feeder club side Newtown in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW. Katoa played on the wing for Newtown in their 2018 Intrust Super Premiership NSW grand final loss to Canterbury-Bankstown at Leichhardt Oval.[10]

2019

Katoa made 7 appearances for Cronulla-Sutherland in the 2019 NRL season but mainly spent much of the year playing for the club's feeder side Newtown in the Canterbury Cup NSW. Katoa played for Newtown in their 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW grand final victory over the Wentworthville Magpies at the new Western Sydney Stadium. The following week, Katoa played for Newtown in the NRL State Championship victory over the Burleigh Bears at ANZ Stadium.[11][12]

2020

In round 6 of the 2020 NRL season, Katoa scored a hat-trick as Cronulla defeated Canterbury 20–18 at Bankwest Stadium.[13]

2021

In round 19 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries for Cronulla in a 44–24 victory over Canterbury-Bankstown.[14]

In round 23 against the Wests Tigers, Katoa scored two tries for Cronulla in a 50–20 victory. In round 25, Katoa scored two tries for Cronulla in a 26–18 loss against Melbourne.[15] He played 13 games for Cronulla and scored nine tries in the 2021 NRL season which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.[16]

2022

In round 14 of the 2022 NRL season, Katoa scored a hat-trick in Cronulla's 38–16 victory over the New Zealand Warriors.[17] On 19 July, Katoa was ruled out for the rest of the 2022 NRL season with a pectoral injury.[18]

2023

On 30 March, Katoa signed a three-year contract extension to remain at Cronulla until the end of 2026.[19] In round 19 of the 2023 NRL season, Katoa scored a hat-trick in Cronulla's 36–12 victory over the bottom placed Wests Tigers.[20] Katoa played a total of 25 games for Cronulla in the 2023 NRL season and scored 13 tries as Cronulla finished sixth on the table. Katoa played in the clubs 13-12 upset loss against the Sydney Roosters which ended their season.[21]

Statistics

NRL

Statistics are correct as of the end of round 20 2023[1]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2018 Cronulla-Sutherland 930—012
2019 740—016
2020 19161/1100.00%066
2021 1390—036
2022 16140—056
2023 21 12 40
Career totals 84 57 1/1 100.00% 0 230

International

Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2022 Tonga Tonga 310—04
Career totals 3 1 0 — 0 4

References

  1. 1 2 Rugby League Project
  2. ↑ "Young Guns - Sione Katoa". 29 January 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "Cronulla Sharks Sione Katoa's rapid NRL rise". 7 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Why Flanagan loves Sharks' latest 'superstar' rookie". Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "2017 Holden Cup Team of the Year announced". 4 September 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Shane Flanagan says Sione Katoa can be Cronulla's version of Jordan Rapana". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Cronulla Sharks debutant Sione Katoa suffers suspected broken jaw". 10 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Johnathan Thurston leads North Queensland to victory over Cronulla in his 300th NRL game". www.couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Canterbury Bulldogs beat Newtown Jets to win 2018 Intrust Super Premiership grand final". Fox Sports. 23 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Newtown Jets steal the State Championship with a last second freak try". Sporting News.
  12. ↑ "Newtown reign supreme in epic decider". NSWRL. 29 September 2019.
  13. ↑ "Katoa flies in for three". www.nrl.com. 21 June 2020.
  14. ↑ "Cronulla Sharks beat Canterbury Bulldogs 44-24, Gold Coast Titans down St George Illawarra Dragons 32-10". ABC News. 25 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "'They cannot attract big names': Ennis savages Tigers as star prop snubs Madge". www.foxsports.com.au. 21 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". www.nrl.com. 3 September 2021.
  17. ↑ "Penrith Panthers welcome back Origin stars in win over Newcastle, as Warriors and Tigers' new coaches lose first games in charge". ABC News. 12 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Storm's Papenhuyzen fears confirmed as Sharks flyer cops brutal blow: NRL Casualty Ward". www.foxsports.com.au. 19 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "Sharks flyer inks long-term extension; Souths lock up Host: NRL Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
  20. ↑ "Hynes magic leads Sharks to big victory as Talakai runs riot amid brave Tigers fade-out: Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
  21. ↑ "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". www.abc.net.au.
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