NRL hands down two-year bans to Tonga officials over Eli Katoa head knocks controversy

Eli Katoa. Photo / Getty Images

Two doctors and the head trainer who allowed Tongan forward Eli Katoa to play through repeated head knocks in a Pacific Championships test against the Kiwis have been banned from working in rugby league for a minimum of two years.

The November 2 clash at Eden Park was overshadowed by Katoa suffering “seizure activity” on the sidelines. He was rushed to hospital for emergency brain surgery and is in a fight to save his NRL career.

After an intensive investigation, the NRL has come down hard, handing out 24-month bans to Tonga’s head doctor, assistant doctor and orange shirt trainer (head trainer). The yellow shirt trainer (medical assistant) has received a formal warning.

In a statement, the NRL said the investigation identified a “number of serious concerns regarding possible breaches” of rules and protocols.

“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 statement said.

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

“All on-field NRL trainers and medical personnel are required to annually complete the NRL’s elite head injury/concussion protocols as well as maintain minimum standards of medical qualification and education.”

All individuals involved must undergo further training on their responsibilities. They have five business days to respond to the breach notice.

Katoa spent two weeks in hospital in Auckland before returning home to Melbourne, where he continues to recover.

The 25-year-old has already been ruled out for the entire 2026 NRL season, but has vowed to return to the field again.

Katoa suffered three head knocks in the space of 90 minutes, with the first coming in the warm-up when he was on the wrong end of an accidental hit from teammate Lehi Hopoate as the two contested a ball. That was caught by TV cameras and later shown on the broadcast.

Katoa copped an accidental elbow from a teammate in the game’s 10th minute and came off for a head injury assessment (HIA), but passed that.

In the second half, he got caught in an awkward position trying to make a tackle on Naufahu Whyte and came off second best. As it was his second HIA, he was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the match.

After the match, former Kiwis and Warriors star Shaun Johnson was critical that Katoa was even allowed to play.

“I don’t get how it can even get to that point,” he said on his Play on Sport Show podcast. “There’s going to be fallout over this.

“There’s going to be some heads that will roll, because I do not know how Eli Katoa was actually even allowed to take the field.”

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf defended team doctors, saying in the post-match press conference that everything was “done by the book”.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.