Pretty soon, Loko Pasifiki Tonga will take the field for his NRL debut.
He’s hard to miss. He stands at six-foot-five and tips the scales at 121 kilos. Most of the time, his teenage face dons an ear-to-ear smile.
That smile was perhaps a touch wider on Tuesday morning when Head Coach Shane Flanagan told the team that he’d be debuting on Saturday evening.
Dragons fans, particularly those with a keen eye on the club’s pathways systems, have likely been introduced to Loko.
It may have been when he earnt an Australian Schoolboys jumper whilst at Endeavour Sports High back in mid-2023.
Or it may have been later that year when he spent the summer training with the club’s first-grade squad for the first time.
Or when was again thrust into the limelight in April of last year when, as the head of their dominant pack, helped St George break a 32-year SG Ball title drought.
His strong play for St George saw him handed an Under 19s State of Origin jersey that June before he finished the year with seven NSW Cup matches under his belt – six of which resulting in wins – spending the final month starting up front.
When Flanagan named Loko in the extended squad for the side’s Round 27 clash, it became clear an NRL debut was a matter of it not when.
“I didn't think it was going to come this early, to be honest,” Loko said.
“I tried chipping away each week. Each game I get the opportunity to play, I try to get better. It’s good having the boys support me going through this journey. They’re just happy for me to crack it.”
Loko was named 18th Man for the side’s Anzac Day clash against the Roosters – an experience which fortified his belief that he was on the path towards a first-grade nod.
“On Anzac Day when I got the opportunity to go out there and put the Anzac jersey on, it was just a really special feeling,” he said.
“Everyone wants to play Anzac Day. That experience taught me a lot.”
Despite the result, Anzac Day gave Loko a front-row seat to one of rugby league’s biggest shows and, with a sea of red and white behind him, a clearer picture of what it means to be a Dragon.
“A lot of great players have worn this jersey,” Loko said.
“Norm Provan, the Gasniers, Dean Young – who’s my coach now – and so many others. It’s a special jersey… Kyle Stanley as well has been a big mentor. Since first coming down from Brisbane and having him being around me has meant a lot. I was a big boy. He helped me with extra conditioning and getting fitter. He’s still around me today.”
Loko becomes Dragon #287
They say it takes a village to raise a child and, for Loko who was born in Auckland, played most of his juniors in South West Sydney, lived in Melbourne, and was spotted by Dragons scouts whilst a high school student in Brisbane, this certainly rings true.
That’s why he’ll have close to 60 friends and family cheering him on in Wollongong on Saturday.
At the front of the pack will be dad Loko Snr and mum Amelia as well as his three older sisters and partner.
“It’s hard to describe with words what they mean to me,” he said.
“My parents are still working. Being the youngest of the family, I’m just always trying to give back to them. Them always working hard every day, that makes me push even harder.”
An NRL debut is always the culmination of something bigger but, for Loko, Saturday will be about pushing that all to the side and making the football the focus.
“I’ve got a job to do,” he said.
“The coaches are putting all their trust in me, so I’ve got to go out there and just like Murds (Ben Murdoch-Masila) says, ‘run hard, tackle harder’.”
