The 22-year-old had his best performance in the NRL in the 42-22 win over Melbourne last round when he had five try assists against one of the NRL's heavyweights. It was close to a 10 out of 10 display.
Instead of being happy with that, Katoa was more interested in detailing where he needed to improve.
It is that quest to be the best of the best that sets him apart from other young playmakers. The honesty is startling.
"I look at all the things I have done wrong in a game before I look at what I did well," Katoa told AAP.
"There is so much improvement in my game.
"There were two early (40/20 attempts) that I thought I could have pulled off better.
"It is not that it was wrong to try it but if we play the set out I probably get a deeper kick down on their 10m line, whereas if I go for a 40/20 (and don't nail it) it gives someone like Ryan Papenhuyzen, who can read it well, the chance to catch the ball and get to the 30 or 40m line.
"It's just about better game management from me.
"When I don't pull it off the opposition gets to play better good-ball footy.
"Individually in defence … I let Papenhuyzen score down the short side. Those are the things to work on."
There has been a lot of speculation about whether Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans will join the club next year and what that might mean for the current halves.
Dolphins boss Terry Reader clarified where Katoa stood in future plans.
"He's one of the most exciting young players in the game. We've signed him through to 2028 and our club is going to be built around Izzy," Reader said.
"Our coach Kristian Woolf has had Izzy in the Tongan side, and he's leading the Tongan team around as well, so we've got a lot of faith in him.
"No matter who comes to our club, he's our halfback. You've heard our coach say that as well, and I think that's a great show of confidence."
Katoa's humility is sincere but it is also tinged with a steely determination.
He outplayed Storm half and 2024 Dally M medal winner Jahrome Hughes, but he was most interested in what he could learn from him.
"It is probably Jahrome's running game and how good he is at taking the line on," Katoa said.
"Because he is such a good runner it creates space for his outside men. That is something I have tried to add to my game, running a bit more and creating those opportunities and space on the outside."
The Dolphins play in Canberra on Sunday full of belief after three consecutive wins.
"The win (over Melbourne) gave us a lot of confidence after we went behind (16-2) after 20 minutes," Katoa said.
"We were able to turn it around and defend our tryline. When we defend like that it gives us a lot of confidence to go into our attack."
20°C