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Andrew Johns reckons Nathan Cleary should be the NSW halfback for the rest of this decade but he has identified Dolphins rising star Isaiya Katoa as the playmaker to succeed him long term.
Cleary and Katoa will go head to head on Thursday night when the Panthers trek north to Suncorp Stadium with both teams looking for a second win of the season to kick off Round 6.
Johns has been impressed with Katoa’s first two seasons in the NRL and believes the 21-year-old has the potential to be the franchise cornerstone for the Dolphins while also adding Origin representation to his Test appearances for Tonga.
“Katoa’s improvement in the past two years has been rapid and, technically, there is no weakness in his game. The next phase is that maturity and ability to take charge in big games,” Johns wrote in his Sydney Morning Herald column.
“Already I rate Katoa as fifth among the current halfbacks in the NRL – behind Cleary, Jahrome Hughes, Daly Cherry-Evans and Jarome Luai.
“Mitchell Moses slots into that group as well when he’s fit, but Katoa leads the next group of No.7s for me.
“Nathan’s now 27 and who knows when he finishes up as NSW halfback, whether it’s in five or six years or further down the track. But I’ve got no doubt that Katoa is the next Blues No.7 and he will have a tenure like Nathan’s for at least five to six years.”
Isaiya Katoa passes. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Johns said Cleary needed to start managing his workload as the 27-year-old enters the second half of his career while also making tactical adjustments for his teammates who don’t read the game as well as he does.
“This next half of his career, he has to be really smart about that extra work to ensure he doesn’t burn his body out.
“His teammates don’t see the game like him. They just don’t, so Nathan’s going to have to dumb some things down. He has to cuddle his new, younger teammates and help them by playing a simpler game at times.”
Gold Coast coach Des Hasler wants the NRL to reintroduce the two-referee model that was in place in the game for more than a decade.
The veteran mentor has also stood by his recent criticism of the NRL’s high tackle crackdown, comments that created headlines after his side’s 36-10 loss to the Dolphins on Saturday.
Hasler has also suggested a new role for the Bunker and allowing on-field officials to make the final call on whether tries should be awarded.
“On-field I think the game still deserves two referees. That’s a main officiating referee and (an assistant),” Hasler said.
“I think one on the ruck and one marking the 10 metres. They’ll get a clearer picture and it will flow better.
“The biggest issue is consistency. I still think there is a simpler way on the tryline (to adjudicate) particularly with the tries, disallowed tries, obstructions and non-obstructions.
“I’d like to see it go back into the hands of the officiating person on the field who has the best view and that is the referees. I think that is a really easy one.”
The two-referee model was scrapped in 2020 after being in operation for 11 years, at the same time six-agains were introduced for ruck infringements.
Hasler appeared to be suggesting an on-field role for referees to decide on tries, similar to what occurs in the NFL with the aid of a monitor. He was asked where that would leave the Bunker.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“Not blow up the Bunker … but maybe I’d find alternatives for the Bunker. That’s another discussion for another day,” he said.
The NRL has made it clear that forceful contact with the head, with no mitigating circumstances, is to be punished by match officials.
Hasler said he was not expecting repercussions or a fine for his outspoken remarks last week.
“I don’t think I’ll have a problem there,” he grinned.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion so I think we can rest easy on that one. We’ve saved $25,000.”
The Titans lost captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, who was sin-binned in the second minute for a high shot on Felise Kaufusi and subsequently banned for one match.
The Dolphins lost forward Ray Stone to the sin bin and to a one-match suspension for a swinging arm to the jaw of Gold Coast forward Beau Fermor, as he was falling into a tackle.
“People pay good money to come and see a game of footy,” Hasler said.
“With the playing at the head, I think it just interferes a bit with the integrity of what the game is about.
“Where is the intention? It’s just another spoiling part of the game. It’s not quite as bad as Magic Round two years ago, but I find it’s disappointing.”
Hasler found support from Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf.
“We don’t believe Ray Stone’s was a grade two tackle. We didn’t challenge that because of all the inconsistency around that at the moment,” Woolf said.
“In the first four rounds we had 12 (players) charged with that kind of tackle, then we had 12 in one round in round five.
“That’s an inconsistency straight away, and I don’t believe the players got worse.
“If I also look at those 12 charges, four of those were grade twos. Two of those were sin-binned, others weren’t. If you look at some of the grade ones, some were sin-binned, some weren’t, and we even had some where players weren’t charged but were sin-binned.”
Manly are one step closer to landing Jamal Fogarty as their Daly Cherry-Evans replacement, with Canberra unlikely to block the halfback’s move.
The Raiders have until the end of this weekend to take up an option in Fogarty’s contract to extend him until the end of 2026.
But that now appears unlikely to happen, leaving the 31-year-old as a free agent from Monday and able to consider a two-year deal from the Sea Eagles.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is due to meet with Fogarty’s management while on the Gold Coast next week, where the halfback’s future will be discussed.
It is possible Canberra could re-sign him after those meetings, with a fresh contract rather than an extension of his current one.
But the Raiders have indicated they do not want to stand in Fogarty’s way if he can secure a longer-term two-year deal elsewhere, which they themselves are unlikely to offer.
That would free Fogarty up to partner Brooks at Manly next year, after Cherry-Evans’ public announcement that 2025 would be his last at the Sea Eagles.
Brooks said in Perth on Wednesday he was prepared to be the team’s halfback next year, but was refusing to giving any energy to worrying about 2026 at this point.
“If that’s the case, I feel like I’ll be ready,” Brooks said.
“I’ve played at halfback for pretty much my whole career, so it would be nothing new to me.
“But to be honest, I haven’t really thought about it. That’s next year’s worries. I’ve just been focused on what we can do this year.”
Manly’s other option aside from Fogarty would be to shift Tom Trbojevic to five-eighth, given teen Joey Walsh is still considered a few years away from first grade.
Brooks does believe Trbojevic has the ability to make a fist of the No.6 jersey if required, in a move that would have seen Lehi Hopoate become full-time fullback.
(Photo by Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
Manly copped a 48-24 hammering at the hands of the Melbourne last week, leaving many to ponder whether the news of Cherry-Evans’ impending departure has unsettled the group.
But Brooks said although Cherry-Evans’ decision came as a surprise, players had moved on and it was just part and parcel of life in the NRL.
“It happens all the time these days in league, so you can kind of become used to it that players come and go,” Brooks said.
“Obviously it’s a bit different with someone like ‘Chez’ that has been at the club for so long, and you would think that he would play his whole career here.
“It came as a bit of a shock at first, but the whole team’s moved on and we’re just focused on this game this weekend.”
Manly forward Haumole Olakau’atu said his relationship with Cherry-Evans hadn’t been affected by the news.
“Nothing’s changed,” said Olakau’atu, who will bring up his 100-game milestone on Saturday.
“Chez is fully committed to his role in Manly. At the end of the day he’s still my teammate, he’s still my friend, and nothing changes.”
Manly sit sixth on the ladder with a 3-2 record ahead of Saturday’s clash with Cronulla, and Olakau’atu would love to send Cherry-Evans off in style with the 2025 NRL crown.
“It would mean a lot to him and his family, and I really hope we could do that for him – hopefully finish on a high note,” Olakau’atu said.
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