NRL set to clear Tonga coach over Katoa injuries

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf is expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing when the NRL delivers its findings into the handling of Eliesa Katoa’s repeated head knocks.

Katoa needed fluid drained from his brain after suffering three separate blows to the head before and during Tonga’s Pacific Championships clash against New Zealand on November 2.

The Melbourne back-rower remained in an Auckland hospital for nearly a fortnight before he was allowed to fly home. Katoa will now miss the 2026 season with the Storm following advice from several medical experts and the club doctor.

After a lengthy investigation, sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed the findings would be made public by Friday at the latest.

Several medical staff who cleared Katoa to play after he took a sickening blow to the head during the warm-up will receive heavy sanctions.

Katoa was accidentally flattened by Tongan teammate Lehi Hopoate when contesting a high ball in a clash which was captured by TV cameras but not flagged with the Tongan coaching staff until after full-time.

The 25-year-old Katoa then suffered head knocks in the ninth and 51st minutes, eventually being forced from the field after failing a head impact assessment following the third incident. Katoa then suffered a seizure while sitting on the sidelines at Eden Park.

The NRL conducted an investigation into Tonga’s handling of Katoa and are set to release the findings within the next 48 hours. Woolf, who stayed in New Zealand with Katoa for more than a week after the match, will not be sanctioned. Nor will his support staff, who relied on medical advice to clear Katoa to play.

At the time, questions were asked over why the independent doctor did not intervene after witnessing the pre-game collision on the broadcast.

Katoa took to social media over the weekend to praise Tonga and the Storm for the way they had cared for him and his family, and told fans, “I’ll be back soon”.

The NRL had all but wrapped up its investigation a fortnight ago, but have delayed making the findings public until they knew Katoa would make a full recovery. Katoa was not interviewed to so he could focus on his recovery.

Meanwhile, six of the game’s best coaches – Wayne Bennett, Craig Bellamy, Michael Maguire, Ivan Cleary, Ricky Stuart and Craig Fitzgibbon – spent a few hours at the NRL’s Moore Park headquarters on Tuesday being briefed on proposed rule changes.

The coaches also took the opportunity to raise some of their own concerns, including how best to achieve consistency with the bunker and what constitutes a player being sent sin-binned.

Bennett bumped into his old Queensland Origin captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who has joined the Sydney Roosters, the arch enemies of Bennett’s South Sydney Rabbitohs.

NRL club CEOs will meet on Wednesday and Thursday, with Perth Bears boss Anthony De Ceglie set to present to his counterparts for the first time, and Jason King, the incoming Manly chief at Manly, will discuss the game’s latest integrity projects.

Amanda Laing, the head of streaming and broadcast at Channel Nine, owners of this masthead, is also scheduled to address the club chiefs.

Croker’s concussion battle ends in medical retirement

Dan Walsh

Debilitating post-concussion symptoms that left Manly hooker Lachlan Croker feeling sea sick for six weeks at a time have forced him into rugby league retirement at the age of just 28.

The Sea Eagles confirmed Croker’s medical retirement on Monday, freeing up further salary cap space for the club alongside a similar ruling on prop Josh Aloiai, whose estimated $500,000-a-year deal for 2026 and 2027 was cut short by an ongoing shoulder injury.

Recently re-signed No.9 Jake Simpkin (extended until the end of 2028) shapes as Anthony Seibold’s first-choice hooker next season, with Zach Dockar-Clay joining the club from the Roosters as back-up.

Manly have high hopes that Ashton Large – the younger brother of rising playmaker Onitoni – can emerge as a long-term hooking option as well.

Croker retires with a year remaining on his contract. He made just four appearances in 2025 after a seemingly innocuous head knock at training in June triggered a repeat of symptoms that floored him a year earlier.

A clash with his former Raiders teammate Josh Papalii in May 2024 initially sidelined Croker for three months as he battled the aftereffects.

“Four or five days after it [the head clash in 2024], I couldn’t get out of my room,” Croker said. “I couldn’t keep my eyes open – the light would kill me. Then two or three weeks after that it progressed into dizziness.

“Basically I felt seasick 24/7. That lasted six-ish weeks, and then I felt normal [when] doing nothing. But as I started training the symptoms would come on again.

“So it was a very long time. You forget what normal is like when you’ve been like that for so long.

“When it happened again this year, three or four weeks into that I said, ‘This is not how I want to live’. It ended up being the smart decision and the right decision for myself, my family and the club.”

Croker has now “moved past the tears and the sad side of things” and already taken up a coaching role with Manly’s SG Ball side alongside former teammates Brad Parker, Jack and Cooper Johns. He played all bar one of his 125 NRL games for the Sea Eagles after making his debut for Canberra in 2016.

The Sea Eagles tried to sign Tallyn da Silva last year when he left Wests Tigers and also expressed interest in new Cowboys hooker Reed Mahoney, but at this stage will prioritise reinforcing their middle forwards and back row rather than looking for a No.9.

Souths prop Davvy Moale will join the club in 2027 on a three-year deal, but a long-touted early arrival is yet to be finalised as Manly seek to have the Rabbitohs pay a portion of his 2026 wage.

Manly remain open to an early release for veteran forward Nathan Brown after talks about a proposed swap deal with Wests Tigers for Jack Bird stalled.

Veteran prop Matt Lodge will also move on next season, with the 30-year-old linked to North Queensland after being offered a one-year extension by Manly.

Halfback Jamal Fogarty (Canberra), lock Kobe Hetherington (Broncos) and winger Blake Wilson (Bulldogs) are the notable arrivals in an ongoing roster overhaul following Daly Cherry-Evans’ exit.