Wayne Bennett has dropped more rugby league players from teams than some people have had hot dinners.
The true test of a player's character is what they do next.
And if that exam can be used to judge a youngster's future in the game, Isaiya Katoa is certainly going to reach the heights expected of him by the likes of Immortal halfback Andrew Johns.
Katoa was a boom player of 2024's NRL season to the point he was eliciting almost weekly praise from the eighth Immortal, who proclaimed the Dolphins young gun was a 300-game star in the making.
He spent the season wearing the No.7 jumper until the penultimate game of the year, when supercoach Bennett sensationally relegated the 20-year-old to the bench.
The following week, with the Dolphins needing to beat the Knights to qualify for finals, Katoa was dumped from the line-up altogether.
Former Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett talks tactics with Isaiya Katoa. Getty
They lost the game and their season was over. Many young footballers would go home kicking stones and thinking twice about their chosen career path.
Katoa is different.
"Being dropped in the last round, it was a little bit disappointing," he tells Wide World of Sports.
"But at the same time, Wayne spoke to me about how this is going to better me in the long run.
"He's always been big with how he wants me to develop as a player in the next five to 10 years, rather than what's important now."
Katoa saw the bigger picture – a trait that no doubt impressed Bennett, who has mentored some of rugby league's greatest.
"It kind of started maybe a couple of weeks before that, where I was having lapses of concentration in games," Katoa says as he prepares for the 2025 season – his third in the NRL – to begin.
"I was coming up with uncharacteristic mistakes, and errors where it's all concentration stuff. Little things like kicking it out on the full, dropping the ball from a pass, just little things.
"I remember speaking to Wayne about it and he was clear – the way he saw it was I was worried about so many things, that I wasn't focused on doing the little things right. That completely changed my mindset.
Isaiya Katoa of the Dolphins. Getty
"When it comes to the crunch time, we are battling it out against Newcastle for a spot in the eight, he said (those are) the games you want to be in and be a part of as a halfback.
"If anything I came out of that more positive, but definitely a lot hungrier to get back with Tonga and perform well."
Bennett dropping Katoa from the team was to be the final act of their relationship as coach and player.
The veteran mentor has since moved south to Sydney to take the reins of the Rabbitohs.
But the lessons he left Katoa stewing over are already having an effect on the young star's performance.
Katoa steered Tonga – under the guidance of incoming Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf – to a Pacific Cup final against Australia, and achingly close to an epic victory.
It was during Tongan camp that news broke the Dolphins were pursuing veteran halfback Ben Hunt's signature.
Last week the club was linked to Eels playmaker Dylan Brown, who is asking for as much as $1.2 million a season.
Dolphins CEO Terry Reader came out swinging on Nine's Today this week and declared his faith is firmly in Katoa and his teammates to do the job.
It's a show of faith that has the soon-to-be 21-year-old buzzing about the future at Redcliffe.
"It's been awesome, they have been very clear with what their plans are going forward with me," he said.
"Whether it's Woolfy or Terry, one thing that they've always done is put a lot of confidence in me and not having to worry about external factors like that.
"I remember when the Ben Hunt talk came out, we were in Tongan camp and Woolfy pulled me aside after one of the sessions and he was like, 'no matter the noise, I'm going to be the coach next year, and the halfback spot is still yours to work for'.
"For me, that kind of just settled the nerves. He didn't tell me that it was my spot, but he gave me confidence that there's still this spot there for me to work for over the pre-season.
"He's always been clear on that, and not making me second guess my position in the team. They've always been awesome with that and keeping my role clear."
The Dolphins start their season against Bennett's Bunnies on March 7.
