Dalby Devils junior makes his NRL debut in Dragons win over Titans

A coaching mentor reflects on the NRL debut of Lyhkan King-Togia, the young Dragon who is already drawing comparisons with a former Origin star.

Lyhkan King-Togia made his NRL debut for St George Dragons win over Gold Coast Titans at the weekend. Picture: NRL Images.

Lyhkan King-Togia made eight tackles and ran for 13m in his NRL debut for the St George Dragons at the weekend.

It was a 10-minute cameo late in the Dragons 32-16 win over Gold Coast Titans but for Jim Sankey it was enough to confirm everything he thought about King-Togia from the moment he first started coaching him in under-10s.

The rugby league mentor, who coached King-Togia from U10s to U17s at Dalby Devils, always thought the young playmaker had the potential to become an elite player.

“Humble is the best way to sum him (King-Togia) up,” Sankey said.

“He was always a fantastic kid to coach.

“He had a very lovely, quiet and unassuming nature but he was willing to work hard.”

Sankey said he saw the same attributes in King-Togia that he saw in a young Carl Webb.

Like Webb, King-Togia made his A-grade debut for the Dalby Diehards as a young teenager.

King-Togia has a long way to go before he can stand alongside the late, great Webb but the potential is certainly evident.

“I was very lucky to coach Carl Webb for a brief period of time,” Sankey said.

“Often you can see those kids that have that little bit extra. Carl was one of those kids and Lyhkan was the same.

“He (Lyhkan) was always working hard in the background.

“From a fairly young age he would run to training- he knew talent only gets you so far.

“He did his best to lift the players around him as well – give them the confidence they needed to be at their best.

“We won five of the six grand finals we played in as juniors and Lyhkan was a big part of that success because he helped those around him lift.”

Sankey and a host of King-Togia’s former teammates and family made the trip to WIN Stadium, Wollongong to see him debut on Sunday.

Waiting in the crowd post-game, Sankey said he was glad he was able to ‘snag’ King-Togia’s signature.

“I was lucky enough to be one of the first to get his signature,” Sankey said jokingly.

“He signed a Dragons jersey for me.

“It was fantastic being in the crowd seeing him finally get there (the NRL).

“Amazing considering that just two years ago he was playing for the Dalby Devils and Diehards.”

Lyhkan King-Togia in action for the Illawarra Steelers in the SG Ball Cup.

Dalby Diehards president Dan Manley said King-Togia was fantastic milestone for the young teen and the Dalby community.

“It is fantastic for our club and certainly all the kids who he grew up with, they are playing in A-grade,” Dalby Diehards president Dan Manley said.

“There was a half a dozen of them who flew down to watch him debut and had to come back the next day after playing Saturday night.

“It is a testament to how much he means to our club, he comes from a really good family.

“His mum is still on the committee of Devils, his brother played A-grade for us on Saturday night and had a blinder.”

Manley said it was obvious from the start that King-Togia, who is one of five brothers, had the potential to be a star.

“He was always going to go all the way, he played for us as a 17-year-old for the Diehards and was the best player on the field,” he said.

“His timing and speed and his technique, everything was elite and we’re very blessed to have had him for a little bit of time in the Diehards.

“It’s a testament to our Devils to Diehards program and we are in our second year of that and he is the flagship for how it should be.”

Originally published as Dalby Devils junior makes his NRL debut in Dragons win over Titans