Loko Pasifiki Tonga not only wants to stay on the field longer for St George Illawarra each week, he wants to stay with the Dragons beyond his current contract ending in 2027.
There had been a lot of chatter that Pasifika Tonga wasn’t happy under former coach Shane Flanagan, who gave him his NRL debut in 2025, and had requested an early release back in April which the club rejected.
He came off the bench for the first three games this season but has been starting prop for the past seven under interim head coach Dean Young.
Pasifiki Tonga gets his first
“I’m happy where I am right now. I’m leaving it all to my manager and I’d like to stay at the Dragons,” Pasifiki Tonga told NRL.com, who is free to talk to clubs from November 1 this year.
“I won’t look too far ahead because anything can happen in the next 12 weeks.
“But I love this club and love where I am right now.”
That will be music to Young’s ears after he watched Pasifiki Tonga, 21, and the Couchman twins Toby and Ryan, 22, bend the Wests Tigers line backwards in the 24-10 win at Kogarah on Saturday.
The trio racked up a combined 425 run metres and made 125 tackles between them.
Val at his best
“I thought Loko was special tonight. He’s been wanting to stay on the field longer,” Young said of the young prop whose been averaging 40 minutes but had 56 against the Wests Tigers.
“He’s such a big body – he’s a real alpha male where he wants to go into the other pack.”
Pasifiki Tonga’s imposing 196cm, 116kg physique rattled off a game-high 70 post-contact metres for his club and is revelling in playing alongside Toby Couchman as the other prop and Ryan at lock. Then there’s back rowers Dylan Egan and Hamish Stewart – both 21.
The performances highlight why many smart judges are tipping a bright future for a young Dragons pack, which will be bolstered by the arrival of Rabbitohs forward Keaon Koloamatangi next season.
“We don’t want to stop,” Pasifiki Tonga said after the Dragons pack dominance on Saturday.
“It’s been a rough ride but look our pack is young and we have a lot of potential. The Couchies are great players, then there’s Stewie and Dyl – all so good.
“We’ll just keep our heads down and stay focused. There’s still a lot of games to go.”
Pasifiki Tonga, who is an Australian Schoolboy and NSW U19s rep, knows the value of developing and training alongside similar-minded forwards around the same age.
Mathew Feagai Try
“It means a lot. We keep each other accountable, that’s the only way to go forward.
“Whatever we say goes when we’re in the thick of it.”
And he can also tell the Couchmans apart besides the number on the back of their jersey.
“I can because I’ve been training with them, playing with them for a while. I know who’s who.”
As for wanting to play bigger minutes, Pasifiki Tonga knows a large part of that is up to him.
“It’s just a feel thing. I’m a big body but I know when I still have something still to go. So when the coaches come on, I tell them I’m fine.
“It’s a self-taught thing that will get me where I want.”
Tyrell Sloan Try
And then there’s the joy of hearing the large Kogarah crowd sing ‘When The Saints Go Marching In’ as the full-time hooter sounded. It was only the Dragons second win of the season.
“We’ve been losing but the fans have been losing too – losing out on celebrating like that,” he said.
“Every win means just as much to them as it does for us. The fans are everything and their support goes a long way.”
