Dragons coach Dean Young has confirmed that Lyhkan King-Togia will stay in the side for next week’s game against the Sharks, meaning a marquee signing will remain in reserve grade.
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Young dropped Daniel Atkinson from the side to face the Dolphins and gave King-Togia the responsibility of partnering Kyle Flanagan in the halves.
The 21-year-old Kiwi had a tidy match with the highlight being his beautiful cut-out pass to Tyrell Sloan in the 62nd minute which sent the winger down the touchline before Clint Gutherson eventually went over for a try.
Young was asked about King-Togia’s game after the match and he didn’t hesitate to tell fans what his plans were.
“Lyhkan will be five-eighth next week because of the performance (he) put in tonight,” Young said after the 28-22 loss.
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It’s a blow for Atkinson, who came to the Dragons on a three-year deal after starring when given chances while at the Sharks.
Young said he wanted to see Atkinson find better form in the lower grades.
“He and Luciano (Leilua) will be playing reserve grade tomorrow, so they know what they need to work on and I’ll be watching the game,” Young said.
The writing was on the wall last week against the Titans.
The Dragons were awful in a 38-18 loss at home in Clint Gutherson’s 250th first grade game.
Atkinson started that day while King-Togia came off the bench.
Dragons coach Dean Young revealed if there would be changes after Friday night’s lossSource: FOX SPORTS
His short stint in a badly beaten team impressed Young.
“He got an opportunity last week. It was only 20 minutes, and he did some really nice things with the ball, which we all know he’s capable of doing,” Young said.
“He knows that he needs to be better defensively, and he did that for 20 minutes against the Titans, but doing it for 20 minutes against the Titans and doing it for 80 minutes against the Dolphins is two different things, and I thought he defended great tonight.”
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After Friday night’s loss, Young said 20-year-old Kade Reed might make a comeback next week via reserve grade after suffering a hand injury in May.
Young also said Blake Lawrie would be available for selection after fracturing his leg in a training mishap a month ago.
Toby Couchman failed a HIA test at halftime in Friday night’s loss but was only deemed to be suffering from Category 2 symptoms on the field.
“We’ll just go through the protocols, but he’s sweet downstairs and telling me he’s going to be all right (for next week), so we’ll see,” Young said.
“We’ll go through the right process with the doctors and see where it lands us.”