NSW nearly lost Cleary and Moses to injury. Who are the halves next in line?
Immortal Andrew Johns has publicly praised Katoa on several occasions for the way he plays straight and regularly digs into the line, already anointing him Cleary's long-term NSW No.7 successor.
When asked about the 21-year-old being parachuted into Origin III at Accor Stadium in the event of any fresh injuries, Johns said on Nine's Immortal Behaviour: 'Katoa is special. I worry about his age. He'd handle it, but you don't want to burn him too early. Coming in with the series on the line is a lot of pressure. [Queenslander] Tom Dearden got it done coming into game two … [but] on the back of eight [first-half] penalties.'
NSW coach Laurie Daley is also a fan of Katoa, but it is unlikely he would throw a 21-year-old in for his Origin debut in an all-or-nothing decider.
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf has worked with Katoa for several years, including with the Tongan Test team, and while he knows Katoa is in wonderful form he is also mindful of keeping a lid on the hype.
'He's an exceptional young man, I love the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his work in terms of wanting to be the best player he can be – and how hard he works at that – and his calm nature,' Woolf said.
'He's calm around the club, he's calm on the field, and that's why he's getting better each week.'
New Zealand Warriors playmaker Luke Metcalf is enjoying a breakout season and currently sits in the top half of contenders in the Dally M race, but was struggling with what looked like a quad injury in the late stages of yesterday's defeat to Penrith. Like Katoa, he would find it a big ask to play his first Origin game with everything at stake.
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The same line of thinking would also be why Canterbury recruit Lachie Galvin would not be considered, even though he is a future Blue in the making.
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds has played Origin in the past and was just last week weighing up a move to the Tigers, where he would have joined Luai.
Thankfully for the Blues and Daley, Cleary, Burton and Luai will have all finished their NRL commitments by next Friday night. Hopefully, this debate is not being had this time next week.
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