NRL proposes heavy bans for Tonga staff after Katoa concussion drama

Three Tonga team officials involved in the handling of Eliesa Katoa’s head knocks are facing two-year bans as the star forward’s recovery from brain surgery continues.

Katoa needed fluid drained from his brain after suffering three separate blows to the head before and during Tonga’s Pacific Championships clash with 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 entire 2026 season with the Storm following advice from several medical experts and the club doctor.

After a lengthy investigation, the NRL issued breach notices proposing two-year suspensions to Tonga head doctor Peter Hackney (who formerly worked as the Dolphins chief medical officer), assistant doctor Hoani McFater (the Warriors NSW Cup doctor) and orange shirt trainer Johnathan Crawley (a physiotherapist with North Queensland) as a result of Katoa’s on-field treatment.

Tonga’s yellow shirt trainer, Steve Dean – a Warriors physio – was also issued with a formal warning. All four officials have five business days to respond to the breach notices.

“The investigation has identified a number of serious concerns regarding possible breaches of the NRL rules and protocols by a number of individuals in the way that Mr Katoa was treated,” an NRL statement said.

“These concerns relate to a possible breakdown in communication between responsible medical and health professionals in relation to the safety of Mr Katoa, including through a failure to share and disclose information that was vital to the health of the player.

“The NRL rules and protocols exist to protect player safety and wellbeing and must be followed.”

The proposed suspensions would prevent the Tonga staffers from having any involvement with an NRL club, team or player, as well as any representative competitions or any other competitions run by the NRL or ARL Commission. Junior competitions, such as SG Ball (under-19s) and Harold Matthews (under-17s), are run by the NSWRL and QRL in their respective states, but the expectation is NRL sanctions would be upheld by both organisations as well.

Katoa suffered his first head knock when he collided with Tonga teammate Lehi Hopoate under a pre-game high ball in a clash that was captured by TV cameras. The collision was not flagged with the Tonga 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 injury assessment following the third incident. Katoa then suffered a seizure while sitting on the sidelines at Eden Park.

The NRL’s findings did not include any suggested changes to head knock surveillance, though scope remains for new guidelines to be considered at this month’s ARLC meeting.

As reported by this masthead, a Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) poll recently revealed 60 per cent of NRL players have continued to train after suffering a suspected concussion.

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