Katoa overlooked, Burton gets Origin recall following Mitchell Moses hamstring fears

He may be touted as the future Blues No.7, but 22-year-old Isaiya Katoa will need to wait a little longer to pull on the sky blue jersey.

With first-choice playmaker Mitchell Moses likely to be ruled out of Origin I after suffering a left hamstring strain at Blues training, Katoa was considered the obvious choice for a late call-up.

Indeed, according to unconfirmed reports in the Sydney Morning Herald Katoa was the original preference as halves back-up, but it emerged the Dolphins skipper is currently in concussions protocols and therefore not able to be considered.

Instead Canterbury Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton—fresh off his best performance of the NRL season against the Storm in Round 12—was rushed into Blues camp where he could make his first NSW appearance since 2022.

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Moses pulled up tight after training on Monday with NSW medical staff fearing the 31-year-old could be sidelined for up to a month, which would also rule him out of Game II in the 2026 series and at least two NRL matches for the Eels.

Sadly, it’s an all-too-familiar tale for the Parramatta captain who missed Games II and III of last year’s Origin series with a calf strain.

With not officially ruled out of Game I as yet, the body language and signals from NSW camp aren’t positive and it’s understood Moses will go for scans on Tuesday morning before a final decision is made.

If Burton does come into the Blues squad for Wednesday night’s series opener in Sydney it will be interesting to see if he comes off the bench behind Raiders debutant Ethan Strange, or gets paired with his former Panthers premiership-winning teammate Nathan Cleary in the starting 13.

Katoa overlooked, Burton gets Origin recall following Mitchell Moses hamstring fears

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