Robert Toia

[Insider]

Fullback is a specialty position and one of the most important aspects of the role is organising the defence especially when defending your own line I hope we are developing a young fullback at the club like Ethan King to be the Teddy successor and let Toia kill it at centre.

Reg Bassingthwaite will be our next long term Fullback

[Renman]

That’s Ponga’s role

Sausage.

[Rooster90]

Reg Bassingthwaite will be our next long term Fullback

This seems the plan given how long we have him tied up for but most have never even seen him play before....
I'm starting to understand the DCE signing as going all out for a comp in 2026 as by 2027 we could likely have a starting spine including rookies in Rodwell & Bassingthwaite

[SamKerrSimp]

Reg Bassingthwaite will be our next long term Fullback

I haven't seen him play is he that good?

[Inflictor]

I haven't seen him play is he that good?

There are a few highlight videos around.

But not as good as this one. We should give this bloke a go.

[RoosterBooster]

rex in action

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8qwtd3

[Bates]

rex in action

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8qwtd3

I was expecting to see an Echidna.

[The Real King]

I don't think that's fair to Sua'ali'i he was 17 when he debuted in first grade and when he was Robert Toia's age he switched codes from league to union and walked straight in to the Wallabies he's a special talent in his own right.

ChatGBT said While Suaalii's strong running is undeniable, his passing can sometimes hinder attacking opportunities, as seen in the example of the Waratahs' try against the Chiefs.

[Lindsay's Dentist]

Toia story: The big decision facing Roosters prodigy as more rep honours loom large on horizon

Without any doubt, the rapid rise of Roosters prodigy Robert Toia from NRL hopeful to playing a key role in the victorious Queensland Origin team is the best good news story of the 2025 season so far.

Always a star as a junior, both in league and union, Toia was signed by the Roosters when he was just 14 years of age but had to overcome more than his fair share of serious injuries before he got his chance in first grade, with ACL injuries in both 2022 and 2023 and a broken jaw in 2023 delaying his progress to the top grade.

The 20 year-old made his first grade debut for the Roosters in round one this year and quite simply hasn’t looked back, but he and everyone else must have been surprised when Queensland coach Billy Slater selected him to run out for the Maroons in game one of the Origin series after just 10 appearances in the top grade.

[Lindsay's Dentist]

The record now shows that Toia did much more than just contain Mitchell, he frustrated him with strong defence from game one and then brought his powerful running game and excellent footwork into play to finish well on top of him across the three game series.

Toia didn’t take a backward step, and in many respects, it was his ability to not only shut down one of NSW’s most potent attacking options, but also open up the Maroons’ right edge attack that saw Queensland win their 25th series.

The Origin series could be the making of Toia, who together with Mark Nawaqanitawase now forms the most lethal Roosters’ right edge combination since Joey Manu and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii last played together, and he’ll almost certainly be among the first selected for the Maroons when Origin comes around again next year.

But what of further representative honours?

At the beginning of the season I’m sure that the last thing on Toia’s mind was playing international football in 2025, but now, after his success at both NRL and origin level, it’s much more than just a mere possibility, and under the international eligibility rules, Toia has multiple options open to him.

[Lindsay's Dentist]

Born in New Zealand, with Tongan heritage and raised in Australia from the age of six, Toia is eligible to represent the Kiwis, Mate Ma’a Tonga and the Kangaroos.

I hope he chooses to play for Australia, as with the Aussies embarking on their first Kangaroo tour of the UK at the end of the year since 2003, he looks ideally placed to find himself on the plane.

Toia is a specialist right centre, and with fellow Kangaroo centre hopefuls in Latrell Mitchell, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Holmes and Bradman Best all more comfortable on the left, who better than the young Queenslander to line up alongside Zac Lomax on the right edge against the Englishmen.

If I’m the new Kangaroos coach, Toia is one of the first players I’m going to call.