Sione Katoa (rugby league, born 1997)

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

For the Canterbury Bulldogs player, see Sione Katoa (rugby league, born 1995).
Si Katoa
Personal information
Full nameSione Katoa
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 35 23 1 0 94
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019– Tonga 9s 3 3 1 0 16
As of 16 November 2020
Source: [1]

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 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]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "Young Guns - Sione Katoa". 29 January 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. https://www.playersvoice.com.au/sione-katoa-no-money-for-bus-fare/#RyucjPhjiQ7vgQ2B.97
  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.
  11. "Newtown Jets steal the State Championship with a last second freak try". Sporting News.
  12. "Newtown reign supreme in epic decider". NSWRL.
  13. "Katoa flies in for three". www.nrl.com.
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