Melbourne Storm and Tonga star Eli Katoa has hailed the support of his partner after vowing to return to the NRL, following recent brain surgery. The 25-year-old has been ruled out of the entire 2026 season on the advice of medical experts but has not given up on returning at a later date after insisting his recovery is “going well”.
Katoa was rushed to hospital earlier this month after suffering seizure activity on the sideline during Tonga’s Pacific Championships loss to New Zealand at Eden Park. It came after the forward suffered three seperate head knocks in the space of 90 minutes, with the first coming in the pre-game warm-up with Tonga teammate Lehi Hopoate.
Eli Katoa has singled out his partner for special praise after her incredible support while he was in hospital. Pic: Eli Katoa/Getty
He spent two weeks in hospital in Auckland before being transferred to Melbourne. And after consultations with medical specialists it was decided Katoa would sit out the 2026 season to fully recover from the traumatic ordeal.
The Dally M second rower of the year has now returned home and is continuing his recovery and rehabilitation under the watchful eye of the Storm’s medical team. And in an update he shared on Instagram, Katoa thanked his numerous supporters for all their well wishes and revealed his plans to eventually return to the NRL.
“I’m back at home at the moment and I’m in a good place now,” Katoa posted on Instagram. “My recovery is going well and hopefully I can keep ticking all of the boxes that I need! And to the Storm fans, in God’s timing, ‘I’ll be back soon’.”
Eli Katoa singles out partner for her incredible support
Katoa was inundated with visitors and messages of support while in hospital and said he was immensely grateful for the love he’d received around the footy world. But he singled out his partner Tuitofa Aloua for special praise, after revealing the extent of her support while he was in hospital.
“This woman has been amazing,” Katoa wrote about Aloua in his post. “Strong and sticking by my side through it all. I appreciate you and I love you so much.” It also included a video of his partner falling asleep in a chair next to Katoa’s hospital bed as she refused to leave his side.
Aloua could also be seen helping Katoa walk down a set of stairs in another image from the post. While another confronting picture showed Katoa being fed a hamburger as he lay in the hospital bed with a bandage around his head and bruises around his face.
Eli Katoa thanked all his supporters after sharing a number of images and videos of the help he received in hospital after undergoing brain surgery. Pic: Eli Katoa
Katoa’s post was flooded with messages from around the footy world, including several current and former Storm teammates. Ryan Papenhuyzen – who was released from the final year of his Melbourne contract recently, wrote: “Health is wealth king, look after yourself my bro.”
Katoa reiterated that he does not blame Tongan officials for the circumstances that led to his brain injury. The NRL has completed its investigation into the Tongan camp’s handling of the situation but due to the complex and sensitive nature of the case, it could be some time before the findings are made public.
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“To the @tongarugbyleagueofficial, the team that we love. I wanna say a massive thank you,” Katoa wrote. “The quality time that we had in camp was unreal. Thank you guys for the help in camp! I love playing for our little Kingdom.”
The Storm will receive salary cap compensation for the loss of Katoa and have been linked with off-contract former Knights forward Jack Hetherington as a potential replacement. But with Papenhuyzen, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and emerging half Jonah Pezet also released at the end of last season, Melbourne’s premiership hopes in 2026 have certainly taken a hit.
with AAP