The Melbourne Storm are on the verge of signing Newcastle Knights forward Kobe Hetherington to help cover the loss of Eliesa Katoa, who will miss 2026 after suffering a traumatic head injury while playing for Tonga.
The Storm recently confirmed that Katoa, while back in Victoria, would miss the entirety of the season, with there being no timeline on his return as he recovers from surgery, which has to relieve a bleed on the brain.
News Corp is now reporting that Hetherington will make the switch to the Victorian capital.
The former Bulldog, Panther and Warrior, who has spent recent campaigns at the Knights, can play either in the middle third or on the edge, but has, for the most part, struggled to reach the potential he once showed.
It's understood Melbourne has received $600,000 in salary cap relief from the NRL to make the move for Hetherington happen, although they were rumoured to be in talks with the forwards months ago, and it's unlikely he would have cost quite that much, leaving the door open for Melbourne to target more players.
Hetherington isn't the Storm's only option in the second row.
Ativalu Lisati was impressive off the interchange bench for the club at times throughout the 2025 campaign as he builds into his career, and Zero Tackle understands he has been re-signed for 2026, while centre Jack Howarth has also spent plenty of time in the second row and could shuffle one spot further in if need be.
The Storm have plenty of backline options, with Moses Leo to push for more game time this year, and the likes of Nick Meaney, Sua Fa'alogo, Xavier Coates, Will Warbrick and Howarth all guaranteed of game time.
That said, Melbourne released Ryan Papenhuyzen over the off-season and may be hesitant to move Howarth into a spot, potentially creating a critical role for Hetherington to step straight into.
Katoa is all but unreplaceable, having taken out the Dally M second-rower of the year award at this year's award ceremony, and now widely being regarded as the best in his position in the sport.
