Forgetting last year\u2019s Samoa-Tonga Pacific Championships game could be forgiven for most neutral fans. A lot has happened in rugby league since.<\/p>\n
But Tonga half Isaiya Katoa, returned from an ankle injury for tomorrow\u2019s sold-out rematch at Commbank Stadium, can\u2019t forget the 34-6 defeat at Suncorp Stadium.<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t want to, either, because his harsh critique of why it happened is driving Tonga\u2019s 2026 World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were well aware of how disappointing we were last year and we just made a promise to each other that\u2026 ,\u201d the erudite 22-year-old\u2019s said, before correcting himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, we didn’t make a promise. We had a commitment to each other that we’re never going to toss out performances like that ever again, whenever we pull this jersey on. We know that we’ve got to have so much more pride in how we perform than what we showed last year.”<\/p>\n
Ask the Dolphins co-captain why it happened, and he\u2019ll hint very strongly that those involved didn\u2019t take the campaign – which also included a 40-14 loss to New Zealand – with the requisite seriousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Tonga XIII v Toa Samoa<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, to be honest, you can’t really put, I guess, a finger on one thing,\u201d Katoa said.<\/p>\n
“I felt like there were a fair few things that we probably didn’t get right in terms of our preparation and going into that camp and stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the first thing we made sure to do was as soon as the (2026) NRL season was finishing… we all just made a commitment to make sure we come into camp fit and ready to go.<\/p>\n
“And it’s always a big part because it shows how much you’re doing away from the team and it shows how much you’re actually committed to playing for Tonga.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what our standards are and we need to make sure that we’re holding everyone accountable to live up to those.”<\/p>\n
Katoa was the maestro in the tournament-opening 30-12 win over England which, at time of writing, seemed certain to cost the men in white a semi-final spot for the first time in the tournament\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe actually debuted for Tonga in the 2022 World Cup, in the first game,\u201d said coach Kristian Woolf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s come a long way since then. He was a baby-faced kid at that stage and impressed us through training – that\u2019s why he got that opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat diligence that he shows in his game and the way he wants to improve his game, that’s why he has the sort of performance he did (against England).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed him to kick really well, kick us out of trouble, put pressure on the opposition and really steady the ship and put our play together. I thought he was exceptional in all those areas. He\u2019s getting better and better.<\/p>\n
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England v Tonga \u2013 Round 1, 2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHis Tongan experiences, in terms of playing big games and managing big games – he\u2019s managed some big wins in that time – has been great for his development. He\u2019s getting more and move confident every year in the NRL.\u201d<\/p>\n
But once more, the man himself is far from satisfied.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I think I get the best learnings and experiences through this (team),\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s Test match footy. It’s obviously a level up to NRL and like Woolfy said, I started my NRL career in a World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo for me to get those experiences every time I get to put on the Tongan jersey…<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd look, to be honest with you, I haven’t been that happy with how I performed in a Tongan jersey – especially the last, maybe two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo for me, I knew I needed to work hard coming in here. Obviously, I picked up an injury in the prelim (final). So a lot of my time off was about rehabbing my ankle and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Isaiya Katoa Try<\/p>\n
Even a dominant performance Perth a fortnight ago is not good enough for Katoa.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I guess so… but I’m the first person to always look at myself and things that I need to work on – always.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yeah, as much as I am happy about that performance, I know that that’s only one game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, on the other hand, is more than just a game to so, so many people. And that\u2019s another thing Isaiya Katoa definitely hasn\u2019t forgotten.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Forgetting last year\u2019s Samoa-Tonga Pacific Championships game could be forgiven for most neutral fans. A lot has happened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-662363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}