Lehi Hopoate recently revealed that if given the chance to rewind time, he would have advised Eliesa Katoa not to participate in Tonga’s Pacific Championship match against New Zealand last November. The game took an unexpected turn during the warm-up when a high-ball drill led to an unfortunate collision between Hopoate and Katoa.

As both players leapt for the ball, Katoa suffered a severe head injury mid-air, which sent him crashing to the ground. Despite the alarming nature of the incident, medical staff cleared him to continue playing after attending to him on the field.

However, Katoa’s ordeal was far from over. The 26-year-old second-rower endured two additional head impacts during the match, ultimately leading to his removal from the game. His condition worsened on the sidelines, prompting urgent brain surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.

Following an extended hospital stay, Katoa is thankfully on the mend. Nevertheless, the severity of his injuries means he will sit out the 2026 season with the Storm.

Despite the setback, Katoa’s talent has not gone unnoticed. He was honored as the second-rower of the year at the 2025 Dally M awards. Encouragingly, he has recently resumed light training with the Storm, signaling a positive step in his recovery journey.

Named as a second-rower of the year at the 2025 Dally M awards, Katoa has this week returned to do some light training with the Storm in the past few weeks.

Lehi Hopoate has explained that he would have urged Eliesa Katoa (pictured) not to play during Tonga’s Pacific Championship clash against New Zealand

Hopoate (right) said he felt ‘mixed emotions’ over the 27-year-old Melbourne star’s injury

Hopoate (pictured) had received criticism online in the wake of the match 

Hopoate says he still feels guilty over the 27-year-old Melbourne star’s serious injury, revealing that he had continued to check in on his Tonga team-mate after the injury.

‘I had mixed emotions because I was at fault for what happened to Eli with his first concussion,’ Hopoate told The Sydney Morning Herald.

‘We were both going for the high ball, we didn’t see each other and then clashed.

‘I knew [he was not well]. I kept checking on him.

‘For him, because he had the red [Tongan] jersey on, he felt like he owed it to the boys [to play].

‘I messaged him a few weeks ago to see how he’s going.

‘I’ve sent him a few gifts. I saw Melbourne did a post about him [on Instagram] being back on the field and running.’

Hopoate also revealed that he had received plenty of abuse online.

Hopoate says he still feels guilty over the 27-year-old Melbourne star’s serious injury, revealing that he had continued to check in on his Tonga team-mate after the injury.

The NRL launched an investigation into the matter that left Katoa needing emergency surgery to drain fluid from his brain after he suffered three head collisions during a match

While he had accidentally collided with Katoa, many fans took to social media to direct abuse his way.

Some even asked: ‘Why did you take out your team-mate?’

‘[As for the social-media abuse], I didn’t fall into that negativity. I was sweet,’ Hopoate said.

His dad, John, who also played for Manly, revealed that ‘Lehi is hurting, 100 per cent, he is feeling for Eli.’

Speaking on the barrage of social media abuse, John added: ‘I’m just lucky Lehi doesn’t read any of that crap. I’ve told all my kids they need to have thick skin. That TV footage showed Lehi hitting Eli, but it never showed how both of them were going for the ball.’

Two doctors and a trainer, who allowed Katoa to continue playing despite the repeated head knocks, were issued with proposed bans of two years by the NRL.

‘Had the docs seen that footage before the game, Eli wouldn’t have played,’ John said. ‘Every player wants to get on the field, but what do you do when the doctors tell you that you’re OK?’

Nearly three months on from the incident, Katoa took to Instagram on Sunday to post multiple pictures of himself back training and spending time with his team-mates.

The Storm appeared to have headed down to Geelong for a pre-season training and team-bonding camp.

He and his team-mates were seen wearing T-shirts with 2012 written across the chest, in tribute to the team that won the Premiership that year.

His team-mate, Ativalu Lisati, gave an update to Code Sports on how Katoa has been settling back in with his team, adding that the star second-row has also been mentoring his colleagues. 

‘Eli has been around training with us and it’s been a motivation for us,’ versatile forward Ativalu Lisati said.

‘He’s been going through it tough, so to see him on the field is a motivation for us boys to do a job for him this year.

‘The boys have been getting around him and we still joke around with him and laugh, so we’re just treating it like it’s a normal day and like nothing has happened to him.

‘The boys are also picking his brain at training because we want to learn stuff from him and take a page from his book and apply it to how we’ll play this year.’