Cook Islands dedicate Pac Champs campaigns to Troy Dargan

Cook Islands men’s and women’s players will pay tribute to former Aitu playmaker Troy Dargan during the Pacific Championships by wearing his name on the left sleeve of their jerseys.

Dargan, who helped the Aitu qualify for the last World Cup in 2022, died last December after a motorcycle accident in the Cook Islands, aged 26.

An Australian Schoolboys representative and member of the 2016 NYC team of the year, Dargan had stints with the Eels and Broncos before making his NRL debut for the Rabbitohs in 2020.

He also played for Manly and was due to join the Raiders this season after signing a two-year contract.

Aitu captain Brad Takairangi said Dargan’s loss was felt deeply within the Cook Islands rugby league community and the players wanted to honour him in Saturday’s double-header against Fiji and their next match in Papua New Guinea.

“I think it is a really nice special touch to have Troy on our sleeves for this year,” Takairangi said.

“It is nice to have the little man looking down on us, and to have his name on both the ladies and the men’s jumpers is really special.”

Having played and trained alongside Dargan for the Eels and Cook Islands, Takairangi became emotional as he spoke to NRL.com about the tribute.

“That just hit me like a ton of bricks just then,” he said. “We are a tight knit group and losing Dargs at the start of the year was tough.

“We are going to have the little man on our jumpers this year and hopefully we can dedicate and make this campaign special for him.”

Moana co-captain Kiana Takairangi said Dargan’s loss was also felt by Cook Islands women’s players and they also wanted to wear his name on their jerseys when they face the Bulikula in a World Cup qualifier in Suva.

“Just personally with my business, CK Athletic Development, we run some junior development clinics for the kids over in the Cook Islands and Troy was planning to be a part of that,” she said.

“We are very much a tight family community here at the Cook Islands and his loss is massive for all of us.

“He is with the boys, but he is with us as well, so it is nice for us to have his name on our jerseys as well.”