St George Illawarra Dragons recruit Daniel Atkinson has a shadow of doubt cast over his future at the Red V following the latest acquisition of Kodi Nikorima.
Fresh reports from the Sydney Morning Herald reveal Atkinson is set to be dropped by coach Dean Young for the club's upcoming clash against the Dolphins on Friday night.
The Dragons had a tough afternoon in Clinton Gutherson's 250th game on Sunday, and Young is looking to switch things up.
Lyhkan King-Togia is the man set to fill in next to Kyle Flanagan in the halves, with Young insisting Nikorima's arrival will be a testament to the club's halves depth in 2027.
"It means we've got depth," Young responded when asked about Nikorima's arrival.
"I'm not going to dive into our recruitment strategy right now. At the moment we've got a panel ... and we have recruitment meetings every fortnight.
"Things change really quickly in this game ... and we thought as a club it was a great opportunity to bring someone like Kodi with his skill set to improve our attack.
"That's the end of that."
Ironically, Young will be looking to thwart Nikorima's attacking prowess when he arrives in Wollongong on Friday night, but remains focused if the Red V play to their game plan, they will be able to handle the Dolphins' impressive strike with ball-in-hand.
"I'm not really worried about the Dolphins too much, to be honest," Young said.
"We're really disappointed with our performance against the Titans at home last week ... a really flat performance after a performance we're proud of against the Warriors.
"Kodi's a real threat. So is Hammer (Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow). So is Izzy Katoa, and we're expecting him to play.
"I'm a simple guy, so my messages are simple."
The club has had an impressive recruitment drive for 2027, with Nikorima adding to the growing list of star power who will make the move to Wollongong.
Nikorima joins Keaon Koloamatangi, Connor Watson, Scott Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf and Phillip Sami as incoming players for the Dragons' incredible roster overhaul.
With Atkinson and Flanagan struggling to produce points this year, the club has identified attacking options to assist the side in its focus on returning to the Top 8 in 2027.
Accompanied by the Red V's young and impressive forward pack filled with juniors, the Dragons shape up as formidable opposition after Daniel Anderson's incredible recruitment push.
Leaving Nicorima aside, I do not understand why Lykhan King-Togia has been given so little game time, this season.
The coach will have seen what Flanagan and Atkinson can do, and it is not as if the Dragons are in the push for the finals, so LKT may as well start every match from now until the end of the season.