Pasifiki Tonga Requests NRL Release Amid Dragons' Struggles
Loko Pasifiki Tonga has had enough of waiting.
The highly rated St George Illawarra Dragons prop has formally requested permission to test his value around the NRL, frustrated after being overlooked yet again by coach Shane Flanagan despite the club’s winless start to the season.
Rising star stuck on the sidelines
The Dragons are zero and six. A shake-up was widely tipped for this weekend’s clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. It never came.
Aside from a forced change in the centres, with Moses Suli ruled out injured, Flanagan has stuck solid with the same side. No room, once more, for Pasifiki Tonga.
That decision lands just days after the 21-year-old tore up the NSW Cup. He ran for 252 metres, crossed for a try and piled on almost 80 post-contact metres in a powerhouse performance. On form alone, he had every reason to expect a recall.
Instead, he remains on the outer.
Pasifiki Tonga played ten NRL games last year, showing enough to be viewed as a key piece of the Dragons’ future. This season, he hasn’t played a single minute of first-grade in 2026.
Tension comes to a head
Zero Tackle understands the young prop has been unhappy with his situation for several weeks. That frustration boiled over on Tuesday.
News Corp reports that his management has now gone to the club and asked for permission for him to explore options elsewhere in the NRL.
Right now, the Dragons hold all the cards.
Pasifiki Tonga re-signed with the club last year through to the end of 2027. Without a formal release to negotiate, he is tied to the Red V for the rest of this season and all of next, and can’t officially hit the open market until November 1.
The club is understood to have no intention of letting him walk. They see him as part of their forward pack’s future, not a disposable asset.
But the calendar matters. If an agreement is reached before the June 30 transfer deadline, Pasifiki Tonga could still be wearing different colours before the year is out.
Crowded path in the Dragons’ pack
Part of the tension sits in the Dragons’ depth chart.
The club has quietly assembled an impressive group of young middle forwards. Hamish Stewart, the Couchman brothers and Dylan Egan have all pushed their way into the frame at different stages, each making their presence felt.
Jacob Halangahu, like Pasifki Tonga hovering on the fringe of the 19-man squad, is also regarded as a rising talent.
Even in that company, many inside and outside the club view Pasifiki Tonga as the standout. He played junior Origin and helped drive the Dragons to their drought-breaking SG Ball title in 2024, a campaign that underlined his potential as a long-term cornerstone of the pack.
Now, that same potential sits idle while the Dragons search for a first win.
A club clinging to its future, a young prop desperate for his present — something will have to give before June 30.
