By Roy Ward
At a recent Melbourne Storm media day, players kept mentioning one name when questions about filling vacant forward positions came up.
That name was Eli Katoa.
The 23-year-old back-rower showed he could be the Storm’s best signing this off-season with a 30-metre try and 119 all-run metres as the Storm came back from 6-0 down at half-time to beat the New Zealand Warriors 24-6 in their final trial game in Christchurch on Sunday.
Katoa was a breakout star with the Warriors in 2020 but had faded out of the side before taking up a deal with Melbourne last August.
With both back-row positions open, he looks to have made one of those spots his own heading into round one against Parramatta at CommBank Stadium on March 2, while Trent Loeiro, 21, is in line to fill the other role.
“Eli’s been a great pickup. He wants to learn and develop. This whole pre-season he has been outstanding,” Storm prop Christian Welch said on Sunday.
Melbourne Storm recruit Eliesa Katoa celebrates his try against the Warriors.Credit:NRL Photos
“He’s a physical specimen, he’s a really good runner, a fit guy and really strong athlete. He’s been great for us considering we lost both our back-rowers.”
Winger Will Warbrick was another Storm young gun who made an impression on Sunday as he ran for 205 metres and scored an impressive solo try in the second half.
Warbrick has been on the cusp of a Storm game for more than a year, but injuries repeatedly pushed him back down the pecking order.
A former New Zealand rugby sevens player, Warbrick’s pace and powerful running has captured imaginations in the Queensland Cup in recent seasons as he continued his transition from union to league – now he looks ready to make an impact in the NRL.
Melbourne Storm winger Will Warbrick.Credit:NRL Photos
“We had a theme all week to establish the run and earn the right to play some footy,” Welch said.
“Will set the tone for us all today, he ran really strong and physical and took on the Warriors over the advantage line.
“We are going to need that physicality against the big forward pack that Parramatta have.”
The Storm’s first-half performance was plagued by errors and dropped balls while the Warriors weren’t much better despite the teams playing in fine, daylight conditions combing for 17 errors in the first 34 minutes.
The Storm had a solo try from Cam Munster ruled out due to obstruction late in the half but Katoa and Warbrick struck early in the second half with Munster setting Katoa into a gap in the defensive line.
A powerful run from Nelson Asofa-Solomona and a flying catch and try from Xavier Coates topped off the win and showed the Storm’s high-octane attack will again be a factor in 2023.
But Welch warned his side if they have a repeat of their first half in round one, they will face a sound beating.
“At the NRL level if you complete at just 50 per cent and keep giving the ball away, keep letting the pressure off, then you will pay a price,” Welch said.
“If we do that at Parramatta Stadium in a week from Thursday, we will be in for a long night at the office.”
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