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Eliesa Katoa felt he had better playing opportunities away from the Warriors next season.
Eliesa Katoa will be given a release from his Warriors contract at the end of the year to join the Melbourne Storm.
The 22-year-old back rower asked the Warriors recently if he could talk to other clubs, even though he is under contract until the end of the 2024 season.
That permission was granted and Stuff understands that the Storm and Dolphins were the clubs most willing to pick him up.
Katoa chose the Storm feeling there were better opportunities for him in Melbourne, so Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins missed out on yet another player they wanted to sign.
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Katoa’s NRL career started with a bang in 2020, having a sensational first year at the Warriors.
During that season the Warriors gave him an upgraded contract, which at the time ran for longer than any other player at the club.
Jason Obrien/NRL
Eliesa Katoa’s career started with a bang at the Warriors in 2020.
But the past two seasons he’s failed to kick on as he continues to learn more about league, having come from a rugby union background in Tonga.
He has been in and out of the Warriors team this year and recently has often been named as the 18th man. Last weekend against the Rabbitohs he missed out altogether.
It’s been said that Katoa was a victim of the Warriors being stuck in Australia for three years and that without the club having its own reserve grade team and needing to travel with 22 players each week, he wasn’t able to develop naturally and had to do it in first-grade footy.
The Warriors have recruited a number of back rowers over the last couple of years and next season have Marata Niukore joining from the Eels, Dylan Walker coming from the Sea Eagles and the Knights’ Mitch Barnett also switching to the Warriors.
Those arrivals would have put Katoa further down the pecking order of incoming coach Andrew Webster, while it frees up a spot in the roster for the club to strengthen in another position.
Webster won’t start with the Warriors until he has finished his commitments with the Panthers this year and it’s the same for incoming general manager of recruitment Andrew McFadden from the Raiders.
The person who’s currently doing McFadden’s job, Craig Hodges, is leaving the Warriors at the end of the season and even though he’s departing, Warriors CEO Cameron George says work is still continuing on next year’s roster.
“Craig is still working with the Warriors and hasn’t got a contract with any other club for 2023,” George said.
“There is contact with Andrew Webster and Andrew McFadden from time to time when it’s applicable, to discuss personnel.
“When you look at what we’ve got next year, at this stage we’ve only got one spot, so there isn’t a great deal to be done there.”
Meanwhile, halfback Ronald Volkman won’t play again this season because of a shoulder injury, which requires an operation.
“Ronald has had some minor shoulder instability episodes over his career, the most recent being late in the game against Wests Tigers,” Warriors head of performance Balin Cupples said.
“For his age and at this stage of his NRL career we need to act on these to give him the best long-term outcomes.”