Warriors rookie Eliesa Katoa says he could feel his mum back in Tonga was watching him play for the first time after the family were given a TV.
Katoa starred in the win over North Queensland, scoring a try and playing a key role in Warriors’ left-edge that terrorised the Cowboys.
The performance was fitting given the Katoa family was watching the 20-year-old play on TV for the first time.
“It was amazing I was playing last night and knowing my family was watching me playing,” he said.
“I called my family straight after the game and they were still happy, still pumped.”
The television was gifted to the Katoa family by a local company after the 20-year-old revealed that it his mum had never seen him play.
“So grateful to them,” Katoa said.
“A few other people there in my house and I was just crying knowing that I’ve been there before, going to other people’s houses to watch the TV there.
“I could feel it when I was playing, knowing my mum would be watching, it was amazing.”
Katoa was told in a team meeting on Thursday that his family had been given a TV and would watch him play for the first time, a fact that meant crossing for a try was even more special.
"I was crying straight away, that was one of my dreams for my mum to watch me play one day,” he said.
“I was actually wishing I would score a try knowing my mum would be watching, it was something that was special.”
The win over the Cowboys also gave Katoa’s more understanding that her son was playing in the world’s best rugby league competition.
“She said ‘I thought it was one of the school games back in Tonga, she has some more understanding of what the NRL is like,” Katoa said.
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