Loko Pasifiki Tonga, all 123kg and 197cm of him, is literally about to become the next big thing in the NRL.
A hulking front-rower still in his teens, a member of the St George Illawarra SG Ball side that broke a 32-year premiership drought and a NSW under-19s and Australian Schoolboy representative, it was obvious Pasifiki Tonga had a future in the game.
Upon first laying eyes on him a couple of years ago, dual international Mat Rogers and colleague Craig Clifton certainly thought so. The pair, working together as player agents for Rogers Sports Management, turned up to an Ormeau Shearers match to watch Rogers’ son, Jack, play.
On the adjoining field stood an Adonis practising his goal-kicking, nailing shots from the sidelines and halfway. They couldn’t sign him to their stable quickly enough.
Yet not everyone who has been part of Pasifiki Tonga’s journey – which will culminate in a Dragons debut on Saturday night after stints in birthplace Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland – shared the sentiment.
Loko Pasifiki Tonga at Clovelly Beach as he prepares for his NRL debut.Credit: Sam Mooy
While studying at Keebra Park – a renowned football nursery that has produced the likes of Benji Marshall, Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, David Fifita, Jai Arrow, Moeaki Fotuaika and AJ Brimson – Pasifiki Tonga tried out for the school’s rugby league team.
He didn’t make the cut.
“I tried out for the first team and didn’t make it for the Allan Langer Trophy team,” Pasifiki Tonga said. “It came as a shock to me, to be honest. In the trial game I reckon I played good enough to make the team.
“Then I was told I was in the B grade. I just felt I had to move, that my talent and potential was enough to make the first team.”
It wasn’t the only setback Pasifiki Tonga has overcome to pursue his NRL dream.
The 19-year-old prop – he began his playing days as a fullback – moved away from his family in Melbourne, where he was playing rugby union, because COVID had effectively stalled his footballing ambitions. He moved in with the family of best mate LJ in Queensland, switched to Ipswich High after the Keebra Park debacle and piqued the interest of the Dragons after establishing himself as a forward of immense promise.
“Just the sacrifice my parents made to move me on as a young kid, being their only boy, letting me go to do the thing I love away from them, was a big step,” he said.
His reward was a Dragons contract, until the end of 2027, and now a debut, in place of the injured Emre Guler, against the Warriors on Saturday. The former Bankstown Bulls and Chester Hill Hornets junior is still coming to terms with the news after coach Shane Flanagan broke it to him on Tuesday.
“It didn’t click until after training that I was going to make my debut,” he said of the touching moment, captured by the Dragons media team.
“I was just in shock. All the boys were coming up to me after – it was pretty heartwarming.
“I just want to play my game, stay in the moment, stay calm.
“My footy is simple – just run hard and everything will fall into place. We have a saying that [teammate] Ben Murdoch-Masila says – just run hard, tackle hard.
“That’s what I try to do.”
Pasifiki Tonga’s girlfriend, Tyra Ekepati, is contracted to the Roosters NRLW squad, but will join him at the Red V from next year.
“We will be able to see each other every day,” he said.
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