BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Leeds Rhinos coach Rohan Smith has paid tribute to Canberra Raiders halfback Troy Dargan, who died tragically in a motorcycle accident in December, and says he’ll remember him forever.
Dargan, who had signed for Canberra for the 2024 season, had his life cut short when he killed in a motorcycle crash on the Cook Islands on Christmas Eve. He was just 26 years old.
Dargan, a former Australian Schoolboy and a Cook Islands International, had played two NRL games for South Sydney. The halfback played for the Norths Devils in 2018 and 2019 in the Queensland Cup where Smith was the coach.
The Leeds boss said Dargan’s shock death had “put things in perspective”.
“Troy Dargan was a fantastic young bloke and I had him for a couple of years at Norths Devils,” Smith told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“He was a Brisbane-contracted player who was allocated to Norths and waking up on Christmas Day to some messages from some guys I coached with that news was really sad.
“The nice side of it has been the response by the rugby league family and I had a great conversation with Troy Dargan senior the other day and the way that Canberra and the NRL and his former clubs have rallied behind the family and given them support is great to see.
“It put things in perspective and the rugby league community does take care of each other, which has been really pleasing.
“Troy taught me some lessons, his relationship with his family was really strong and I sort of aspire for my kids to feel the same way that he did for his family.
“I enjoyed my time with Troy and I’ll remember him forever.”
