Rugby league agent Mat Rogers has given a damning assessment of the Dragons‘ current predicament, explaining why Loko Pasifiki Tonga has requested to negotiate with rivals.
The 20-year-old is part of the Rogers Sports Management stable but not a direct client of the former player.
Pasifiki Tonga has not played first grade yet this season after playing 10 matches last year.
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Rogers believes the club thinks he’s “not up to scratch”.
Loko Pasifiki Tonga. NRL Imagery
“He’s a tremendous young man,” Rogers said on SEN.
“He played 10 games for the Dragons last year. He had a big off-season. He came back [to the NSW Cup] last week, ran for 250 metres, 70 post-contact metres, scored a try.
“They’ve obviously got an opinion of him that, he’s not up to scratch. He doesn’t feel like he’s being developed and I guess we agree.”
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Pasifiki Tonga joins Jaydn Su’A as the second player in a week wanting out, with the latter choosing not to activate a player option for next season.
Rogers said the youngster is “totally flabbergasted” with how he’s been treated and “not coached”.
“He doesn’t know what to do. That’s the problem,” he said.
“Whether or not they will (let him go), they might dig their heels in, they’ve got some more pressing issues in relation to winning games of football.
“There’s a very frustrated young man there who’s busting his butt and he’s playing the house down and scored two tries in the three matches he’s played (in NSW Cup).
“He thinks he deserves an opportunity, and now it’s not sour grapes, he just feels like he’s not being told what to do.”
Rogers added that the forward will be on the radar of clubs if he’s allowed to leave.
The Dragons currently sit second in NSW Cup and are equal on points with the first-placed Knights and have one game in hand.