PNG Hunters forward Kato Ottio to trial with NRL club Canberra Raiders

Papua New Guinea Hunters forward Kato Ottio has been invited to trial with National Rugby League club the Canberra Raiders after an impressive debut season for the SP Hunters in the 2015 Intrust Super Cup competition.

Ottio left for the Australian Capital Territory on Monday and met with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and his staff before being settled in for the preseason.

The hard-running backrower, who was used predominantly by coach Michael Marum on the right edge, has filled in at centre on occasion and even played a test for the Kumuls in that position earlier in the year against the Fiji Batis.

From Central and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, the 21-year-old Ottio is a former national volleyball representative, having won a gold medal for PNG at the 2013 Pacific Mini Games in Wallis and Futuna but switched to rugby league the following year and played for the Dobo Warriors in the Port Moresby Rugby League.

Fast, strong and athletic with an aggressive streak 192cm, 108kg Ottio continued to turn heads throughout 2104 winning the Southern Region 9s title playing for Maopa Paio before being picked to represent Southern Zone in the national championships and then making the Confederate All Stars to face the Digicel All Stars before being slotted into the Prime Minister’s XIII side the same day.

The Raiders under coach Rickey Stuart struggled  for consistency over the 2015 season but showed glimpses of their ability with a run on wins in the first half of the season with five-eight Blake Austin in superb touch.

Ottio’s inclusion is not unlike Wellington Albert’s two-year stint with the Penrith Panthers that ended this year. Despite not playing a first grade game for Phil Gould’s Panthers, Albert had similar attributes to Ottio in terms of size and speed and it is not surprising that NRL clubs are looking for those qualities when considering foreign talent – especially from the Pacific and in particular Papua New Guinea.

Hunters pair Thompson Teteh and Wartovo Puara Jr had a six-week stint with the South Sydney Rasbbitohs at the beginning of the year and although not managing to secure long term contracts both men gained from the experience.

Ottio’s Raiders attachment brings the number of Hunters players given stints at NRL clubs to four – Mark Mexico (Cronulla), Teteh and Puara Jr (Souths) were the others. The National/PNG Today