Wayne Bennett received a phone call from Keaon Koloamatangi on Christmas Eve informing him he would be quitting South Sydney to take up a lucrative five-year deal with St George Illawarra.
Bennett had handed the big forward his NRL debut in 2020. Before that, South Sydney great Sam Burgess had urged the coach to persevere with Koloamatangi, who was not always the best trainer but a Souths junior with plenty of potential.
The super coach was naturally disappointed when Koloamatangi broke the news he would be joining the Dragons from 2027.
The Rabbitohs had tabled a decent offer of a four-year contract. Parramatta were also super keen and met with the 27-year-old. The Roosters North Queensland and competition newcomers Perth all made inquiries regarding Koloamatangi.
But a five-year deal that averaged out at around $1 million a season was always going to put the Dragons in the box seat.
Bennett isn’t one to hold a grudge. If anything, he was grateful he still had Koloamatangi on the books for this season.
“Knowing we’ve got him another 12 months took some of the pain away, I can tell you,” Bennett said this week. “Knowing he wasn’t going right now, that was important to me and important to him. He can finish on a really good note.
“When I went to Souths in 2019, Keaon was this big guy who was way behind in fitness. I knew nothing about him. I watched him train for a few weeks, and I said to Sam Burgess one day, ‘What do we know about this guy?’
“Sam said, ‘Wayne, he’s going to be good’. I said, ‘Do you really believe that?’ And he said, ‘Yep’.
“All he needed was a bit of encouragement. He was a little bit shy. But I took Sam’s word on it. I know Sam knows football. We persevered with him.
‘I was never going to blame him for that. He’s been tremendous for our club. I was really happy for him.’
Wayne Bennett on Keaon Koloamatangi’s Dragons deal
“I can still remember Keaon’s dad [Izzy] coming to his jersey presentation – Keaon was so proud for his family as much as he was for himself that he was about to play his first first-grade game … he has come such a long way.
“We made him a really good offer, but he got a longer offer from another club. I was never going to blame him for that. He’s been tremendous for our club. I was really happy for him. He’ll do his best for us this year. I’ve got no doubts about that.”
Proof Bennett has a big soft spot for Koloamatangi can be seen in the face he remains one of the very few players the coach allowed to continue playing first grade with a mullet. Plenty before him, including South Sydney’s Jai Arrow, were told in no uncertain terms to get to the barber or risk being stranded in reserve grade. But not Koloamatangi.
The softly spoken enforcer was switched from an edge to the middle midway through last year, and produced some of the best football of his career. Bennett had also used Koloamatangi as a middle during that first season in the NRL.
His form last season was enough to earn him a call-up to the Ashes tour, where he played all three games for Australia off the bench.
When he returned to Sydney one Monday late in November, Koloamatangi had to give his next move some serious thought.
“I have two little ones and my fiancée to look after, I have to think about my family – they’re my number one priority,” he told this masthead at the time.
Koloamatangi admits that had he been single with no children, it would have been easy to stay put. But the Dragons offer will go a long way to setting him up financially for life after football – which, he said, would give him more of a chance to enjoy quality time with fiancée Heavenly, and his daughter and son, Psalms and Saint.
‘Wayne gave me my debut. I’d trust him with my life.’
Keaon Koloamatangi
Heavenly was happy for her husband to do whatever he wanted. She never followed rugby league until she started dating Koloamatangi.
“The first time Heavenly watched me play, she thought the ‘six-again’ bell meant it was half-time,” Koloamatangi said.
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan wanted a leader for the club’s forward pack, and Koloamatangi fits that bill. His experience will be invaluable for St George Illawarra’s young forwards, including the likes of the Couchman brothers, Toby and Ryan, both 22, Hamish Stewart and Dylan Egan, both 21, Loko Pasifiki Tonga, 20, and 19-year-old Jacob Halangahu.
If those players remain fit, their best years will start unfolding during Koloamatangi’s own prime.
Flanagan could not ignore the feedback he received from Damien Cook and Jaydn Su’A, two Dragons who played with Koloamatangi at Souths.
But back to that phone call with Bennett.
“Wayne was the first person at Souths I called,” Koloamatangi said.“I didn’t know how the conversation was going to go. But he was proud of me. Wayne gave me my debut. I’d trust him with my life.
“He said to me, ‘You probably never dreamt of being in the position you are now, and how far you’ve come’.
“I was pretty overwhelmed by the support he gave me. He understood I made the decision based on what was best for my family.
“I’d actually never been in the position where I was feeling wanted by a few clubs – the only thing I’ve known is the Rabbitohs. I wanted to look after my kids. If I had no kids or a wife, it might have been a different story.
“I’m also excited by the challenge of going to the Dragons, working with their young forwards, and basically getting out of my comfort zone, which would help me grow as a player, a father and man.”
The challenge now for Koloamatangi is to reproduce his 2025 form and not allow the intensity to fade now he has inked a new deal.
Burgess had a crack every season. So does one of Koloamatangi’s favourite players and fellow Tongan, Jason Taumalolo. For the record, Koloamatangi will wait until later this year to make a call on siding with Australia or Tonga at the World Cup.
“Sam and Jason were at their best week in week out, and it’s that consistency I want in my game,” he said.
“Now you’ve got guys like Payne Haas, Addin [Fonua-Blake] and Pat Carrigan, they’re among the best players on the field every week, and that’s why their teams win. Their backs will get the accolades because they have gone out and laid the platform.
“I feel good about this year. I’m excited. I’m hoping we can go out with a championship. I actually think we can win it.”
