The bold gamble and ‘typical old-school Wayne’ move delivered a generational star

If not for a bold gamble to venture into the unknown and away from rugby league’s most dominant juggernaut, Isaiya Katoa’s meteoric rise may never have eventuated.

Quietly biding his time in the Penrith Panthers’ lower ranks, but without much of an opportunity in sight owing to Nathan Cleary’s presence, the halfback faced a dilemma when he received a call from Wayne Bennett.

Would he stay at the NRL’s most successful club or make the leap to the Dolphins, where it could be years before experiencing success?

Katoa’s choice to go with the latter has earmarked him as a future State of Origin superstar, and has spearheaded the Redcliffe-based outfit into their first preliminary final on Friday night against the Sydney Roosters.

“To take a bit of a risk and a shot at a kid who’s just come out of high school … I owe this club everything. It’s been a journey,” Katoa gushed.

“Now as a club, we’re starting to reap the rewards. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would have developed as much as I have as a player.”

Katoa was only 18 when he made his World Cup debut for Tonga, the nation’s coach and Dolphins honcho Kristian Woolf telling the story how he saw the teenager studying for his final high school exams in an England hotel lobby.

The Wellington-born talent moved to Sydney with his family when he was nine, and went on to play First XV for esteemed rugby union school, Barker College. The move north of the border for the Dolphins’ inaugural season – with the club criticised for a perceived inability to land a marquee recruit – loomed as his greatest challenge.

“It was all around opportunity. I understood how great the club was at Penrith in terms of how they developed their juniors, and … they’ve been the most dominant team,” Katoa said.

“I was tossing up between whether I wanted to stay at the Panthers and continue to develop my game, which I knew I’d be able to do, but at the same time I had the opportunity to come here, go straight into the top 30 and be coached by Wayne Bennett.

“It’s probably one of the best opportunities I’ve been able to receive in my life. I don’t even know if I’m playing first-grade if I don’t take that chance.”

The Dolphins had recruited Anthony Milford, Kodi Nikorima and Sean O’Sullivan as its halves options. In a shocking twist, Bennett called on Katoa to lead the team in their triumphant launch against the Sydney Roosters.

“He actually never told me I was going to debut. The way I found out was when he actually named the team list – that’s typical real old-school Wayne,” Katoa laughed.

“What it did was give me so much confidence. For him to overlook some of the great players we had and throw me in straight away was a show of faith from him, and something I’ve always appreciated of Wayne.”