{"id":219566,"date":"2026-01-06T11:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/219566\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T11:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:53:07","slug":"koloamatangi-joins-dragons-in-landmark-deal-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/219566\/","title":{"rendered":"Koloamatangi joins Dragons in landmark deal – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a> have officially confirmed one of the biggest recruitment coups in recent club history, securing Keaon Koloamatangi<\/a> on a long-term deal through to the end of the 2031 season.<\/p>\n

As first reported by Zero Tackle<\/a> in December, the Dragons have beaten out significant rival interest to land the Rabbitohs enforcer, with the club now locking in the 27-year-old on a five-year agreement from 2027 onwards in what shapes as a cornerstone signing of their rebuild.<\/p>\n

A destructive middle forward with representative credentials across the NSW Blues<\/a>, Tonga<\/a> and the Kangaroos, Koloamatangi arrives as a genuine statement of intent from the Red V, not just in terms of talent, but leadership, standards and long-term direction.<\/p>\n

\"SouthSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 06: Keaon\u00a0Koloamatangi of the Rabbitohs speaks to the media after a South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL training session at USANA Rabbitohs Centre on May 06, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“I’m excited to be joining the Dragons,” Koloamatangi said in the club’s announcement.<\/p>\n

“The club’s ambition really impressed me.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been watching the squad they’re building and the young forwards coming through, and I want to be part of driving that next era.”<\/p>\n

While he acknowledges his love for his current club, the Rabbitohs, he admitted the Dragons were simply too alluring to turn down.<\/p>\n

“I’ve loved my time at Souths, but I’m looking forward to bringing my experience, my standards and everything I’ve got to the Red V,” he said.<\/p>\n

Dragons CEO Tim Watsford described the signing as a transformative moment for the club, highlighting the deliberate strategy behind targeting an elite forward entering his prime.<\/p>\n

“This is a transformative moment for our club and our future,” Watsford said.<\/p>\n

“Keaon is one of the premier forwards in the NRL<\/a> and a proven leader.<\/p>\n

“He drives standards every single day, and the fact he chose to commit to the Dragons long-term says a lot about where we’re heading.”<\/p>\n

Head coach Shane Flanagan<\/a> echoed those sentiments, identifying Koloamatangi as a crucial piece in shaping the Dragons’ forward pack moving forward.<\/p>\n

“We’ve always wanted to bring elite representative players to the Dragons, and Keaon is exactly the type of team member we’ve been searching for,” Flanagan said.<\/p>\n

“Pairing him with the young pack we have coming through is something our members and fans will really relish.”<\/p>\n

Koloamatangi will join the club ahead of the 2027 pre-season, arriving not just as a marquee forward, but as a leader expected to set the tone for the next generation of Dragons forwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The St George Illawarra Dragons have officially confirmed one of the biggest recruitment coups in recent club history,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219567,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-219566","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}