As a Melbourne back rower, Eli Katoa has a lot to live up to. 

Playing second row for the Storm is a star-making position — the likes of Ryan Hoffman, Felise Kaufusi, Kevin Proctor, Kenny Bromwich, Tohu Harris, Sika Manu and Adam Blair all rose to represent their countries while lurking on the edge for Craig Bellamy's great winning machine.

Sometimes it was a matter of plucking them straight from the junior ranks. Hoffman was an Australian Schoolboy. Blair and Manu were both Junior Kiwis. Proctor, somehow, was both.

Others came from further off the beaten track. Harris got a start after impressing at an open trial in New Zealand. Bromwich and Kaufusi earned their chances after serving lengthy apprenticeships off the bench for the club.

But none of the Storm's legion of successful back rowers have a story quite like Katoa, the current heir to the second-row throne. 

It began a world away from the bright lights of NRL stardom in the Tongan village of Koulo.

It's the kind of place that's hard to find unless you already know where it is. Head north from Nuku'alofa for about 200 kilometres until you reach the Ha'apai islands group.

There, on the island of Lifuka, you'll find Koulo, population 171. That's home for Katoa, it always will be, and until he left for boarding school in Auckland when he was 17, it was his world

"Mum and my family are still over there. Last year I managed to get them over for a game, it was the first time they'd left Tonga. I want to do the same thing this year, getting them over here, that's the main thing for me," Katoa said.

"The thing I miss the most is my family. The whole community is great, but it's all about my family. I have one brother and two sisters, I'm the second youngest and they're all still over there.

"I try to get there once a year, I always love going home.

"It's a flight from Nuku'alofa, or a boat. But it doesn't matter how far it is, not to me."

It must feel so removed from the bright lights of the Sydney Football Stadium, where Katoa scored a try and set up another in Melbourne's win over the Roosters last week.

The match showed why the Storm were so keen to get Katoa over from the Warriors last year and why he signed a three-year extension with the club midway through 2023.

He has the size to barrel over defenders, the quick feet to hit holes, the athleticism to act as an aerial threat, the soft hands to throw passes and catch bombs and the attacking skill to ball-play before the line and offload in contact.

There were glimpses of those attributes during his time with the Warriors, where he played 46 games in three seasons from 2020 to 2022 – enough so that Canberra and the Dolphins were keen on the 24-year old.

But finding raw, talented players who just need the right guidance is as much of a tradition for Bellamy's Storm as producing back rowers. The fit was perfect, right from the start.

Katoa had a strong maiden campaign with the club, recovering from an eye injury that he initially feared would leave him half-blind to finish the season strongly and earn his Test debut for Tonga.

There's been more of the same in 2024 — he's scored three tries, set up two more, averaged 100 metres a game and increased his defensive workrate.

In short, he's starting do all the things the great Melbourne back rowers of the past have done. It's a lot to take on, but he's up for the challenge.

"Everyone knows how good a club they are, their history speaks for itself. When I first came in, everyone was so welcoming and you could see that culture from day one — everyone wants to win, but everyone is just as focused on working for each other," Katoa said.

"That's what we pride ourselves on here."

Katoa admits he's far from the finished product. When it comes to rugby league, he's still a relative beginner even after four years in the top grade — he'd only played 13 games of league in his entire life before his NRL debut in 2020. 

He had a couple of errors against the Roosters but he's getting closer to realising his enormous talent by the week and his work off the ball, especially defensively and chasing kicks, remained strong.

For all the things he can do that few other back rowers can match, mastering those little things are what will truly make him the Storm's next back-row success story and he is hell bent on getting there.

"I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, I'm more confident. Last year was a lot about adapting to the system, learning how they play, and this year I know my role better and the role of the players around me," Katoa said.

"It's all down to the reps we do at training, that's what's behind all the combinations.

"I didn't have the best start [against the Roosters], I was forcing some offloads, but that's footy and I'm not going to go away from my strength.

"I still need to work on it, because it put a lot of pressure on us. Sometimes it's not there, that's what I'm still learning.