Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has tipped rookie winger Sione Katoa to become an NRL superstar, comparing him to Canberra's try-scoring machine Jordan Rapana.
Katoa will make his debut for the Sharks on Friday night against North Queensland, securing the position over the likes of former South Sydney winger Aaron Gray and Edrick Lee.
Katoa, known for his lightning speed, impressed in the pre-season after he was the leading try-scorer across the under-20s competition last year with 24.
Now the Sharks mentor tips big things for the 20-year-old in the NRL.
"He deserves his spot, he's played well in the trials coming off the back of the under-20s season last year," Flanagan said.
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"He's going to score a lot of tries in the NRL, he's a superstar."
Katoa enters the opening round as one of the great unknowns of the NRL after scoring in each of the Sharks' pre-season trials but having never even played senior football in reserve grade last year.
But Flanagan said there were similarities between Katoa and one of the NRL's most powerful wingers in Rapana, who's broken through 287 tackles and scored 44 tries in the past two seasons.
"He's got a bit of Jordan Rapana in the way he carries the football," Flanagan said.
"He's not as big as Jordan, nowhere near that but stopping and starting, reloading and just keeping going until he finds a hole.
"It's really exciting to get to watch him play and give him his first jersey. It's the start of a long career."
Katoa will form part of a new-look Cronulla backline against the Cowboys that also has recruit Josh Dugan entering the centres and Matt Moylan offering another option out the back while playing at five-eighth.
The Sharks will slightly reshape their attack with the introduction of Moylan this year as an extra sweep runner alongside fullback Valentine Holmes but Flanagan said he didn't expect immediate changes.
"It will evolve. It won't just happen Friday night," he said.
"We're comfortable with where we're at the moment, there's no excuse. We're really excited about round one and the season actually."
