Opinion Sione Katoa

[Raysie]

He's no superstar, but why the hell was this guy not picked even once earlier in the year? We're the bottom side and going no where and Dean Pay didn't pick him once! Hate to put the hammer down on Pay, but it is just dumb. Why did he sign him at all?

Anyway, I thought he went really well today. Made 30 tackles and punched really well through the middle with the ball in hand. He also brought some much needed aggression.

I think Katoa being the Havili / Brandon Smith type bench utility that can cover Lock or Dummy-Half if needed is the perfect role for him going forward and some light in our bench rotations.

 

[Alexander the Great]

He was very decent today and is aggressive which is what we need in the team.

 

[Spoonman84]

I don’t think Pay saw him as anything other then a hooker. He was the only one with any line speed in defence in the second half and that one on one steal was huge.

I’d like to see him play more to see if he can do it on a consistent basis. He could be a great 14 if he can.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Because Pay is tactically inept, pretty simple. Georgallis' first pre game interview he talked about the rule changes and us needing to improve in attack..complete opposite of Pay.

Anyway Katao was very good, busy and aggressive in defence and gave us something different through the middle. Conditions did suit him through the middle but I defenitely want to see more of him in this role.

 

[ddt192]

Yeah I like the way he was used today. Very effective.

 

[Bulldogs09]

Exactly. Pay out of his depth. Katoa overachieved though hey Brady

 

[B-Train]

It's a common trend right now to have a nuggety hooker to play through the middle as another lock... The role suited Katoa well and he made a real impact with lots of aggression.

Georgallis isn't a genius coach but he's shown more initiative in a few weeks than Pay did in two and a half seasons.

 

[oldpuppy]

He was very decent today and is aggressive which is what we need in the team.

Even Meaney showed aggression today pushing that forward over after tackling him
If Nick gets a Wakeham hairstyle he'd be a weapon.

 

[Shire Dog]

I don’t think Pay saw him as anything other then a hooker. He was the only one with any line speed in defence in the second half and that one on one steal was huge.

I’d like to see him play more to see if he can do it on a consistent basis. He could be a great 14 if he can.

It took me a few minutes to work out who it was when he came on lol
The guy was aggressive and energetic throughout his stint.
A shame Katoa has been overlooked till now.

 

[GA45]

Because Pay is tactically inept, pretty simple. Georgallis' first pre game interview he talked about the rule changes and us needing to improve in attack..complete opposite of Pay.

Pay is pretty good. He stayed in the role for 3 seasons and earned probably a million dollars with no fucking clue. That’s impressive

 

[c-b-b]

It's very hard to understand why you would sign a player with no intention of using them, unless the decision to sign him wasn't Pays.

 

[oldpuppy]

It took me a few minutes to work out who it was when he came on lol

Same here. Lol
I thought it was a smaller danny faulolo

 

[doggieaaron]

Spot on pay was clueless,id like to see katoa come off bench he played well at lock actually

 

[Apercots]

Georgallis's game plan blew the knights away today

 

[Shire Dog]

Same here. Lol
I thought it was a smaller danny faulolo

He looks quite stocky which threw me off at first.
Has he filled out recently or just more gym time,wasn’t afraid to take on their forward pack.

 

[Scoooby]

He’s awesome, got more Mongrel than most of our players that’s for sure.!!!

 

[Shire Dog]

He’s awesome, got more Mongrel than most of our players that’s for sure.!!!

I hope he can back it up again for the rest of the year.
Could turn out to be a revelation in disguise and certainly give us a good utility of the bench.
Why isn’t RT getting more minutes.

 

[Doggiezbrah]

I wondered why we went Wakeham and Katoa on the bench. This was a good move by the coach to play him in the forwards.

 

[707_2Belmore]

Always liked Katoa and was happy when the club signed him. I was an intern at the Panthers back in 2016 and was able to watch him in the lower grades. He doesn’t take a backward step and adds some starch to a team. A decent DH but can also be a a handy ball playing 13 if needed.
Pay really messed it up signing/ viewing him as purely a rake option because Panthers would use him as a ball playing lock at times

 

[Malla]

Why wasn’t he picked? Only Pay knows the answer to that lol the same bloke who played Holland at hooker lmao