Crash Tackle: Calculating Tevita Pangai Jr’s value to Broncos

Chief sportswriter Robert Craddock looks at the NRL’s big talking points, including the fluctuating value of an off-contract Brisbane star and a grand final stitch-up.

Tevita Pangai Jr was superb for the Broncos against the Sharks. Picture: Getty Images

Each week, The Courier-Mail’s chief sportswriter Robert Craddock looks at the big talking points coming out of the NRL.

ONSIDE

BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS

Beware the rugby league team who shed tears — not for winning a game but simply for wearing the jersey.

The first sign this would be a Broncos win for the ages came when tears of pride and joy were shed before the match.

Broncos new boys Keenan Palasia, Xavier Coates, and Herbie Farnworth were handed their first Broncos jerseys and some of them choked up and broke down as they said how much the occasion meant to them. Even coach Anthony Seibold teared up.

That passion flowed into the field for a stunning upset against the Sharks. Even if the Broncos don’t make the finals this year, if they can show the pride and zest for the contest they displayed on Sunday, the club will lose few fans.

The Broncos excelled against the Sharks as rank underdogs at a price ($4.15) few Brisbane teams have ever been in the club’s history. The challenge for them will be to repeat the result as expectations rise.

THE TWO OF HIM

Forward enigma Tevita Pangai Jr is up for a new contract but deciding what he is worth is not easy.

Pangai Jr’s people were asking more than $800,000 a year when he had the game that rocked the NRL against the Cowboys this year but then he went cold and there was a feeling he has slid into the $500,000-$600,000 range.

But his performance against the Sharks, with his power-running and wonderful off-loads, including the mesmeric matchwinner to Jake Turpin, will see his value rise again.

Tevita Pangai Jr was superb for the Broncos against the Sharks. Picture: Getty Images

JAKE’S GREAT

Turpin’s father Tony once claimed he first sensed his son would be a solid defender when he was crash-tackled by him in an aisle at Woolworths.

Jake was 11 at the time. Every NRL team needs its ­superstars — and its unsung heroes like Turpin, who are not flawless but simply have an energy and spirit which lift the entire team, as he did against the Sharks.

FACING THE FIRE

Darius Boyd has been under pressure all season but the way he has handled his late ­career form wobble shows how much he has grown as a man.

Boyd played solidly against the Sharks and it was a reward for the mature way in which he discussed his plight with the media last week.

A decade ago, Boyd was the most reclusive figure in the game but these days, while not the player he was, at least he is fronting up to the pressure and looking the world in the eye.

TITANIC DECISION

Kevin Walters is continually being touted as the next Titans coach and the move makes sense on several fronts.

If the Titans want to redefine themselves as a Queensland club they need a Queensland coach and signing Walters would ensure significant public support.

OFFSIDE

STITCHED UP

Common sense and goodwill seem to have finished last in the debate of who should host the 2021 NRL grand final.

Discussions between senior NRL officials and the NSW Government last week moved a step closer to the event being pencilled in for the awkwardly unsuitable SCG in the wake of the continued unavailablity of ANZ Stadium.

A one-off visit to Suncorp Stadium made much more sense but, as Bob Dylan used to sing, “money doesn’t talk, it swears’’.

Suncorp Stadium would have been a great fit for the NRL grand final. Picture: AAP

HAUNTED HALF

Rugby league can be a cruel game. A man can spend years climbing the cliff face only to lose his footing when he is stepping onto the summit.

Sean O’Sullivan had been performing industriously for Norths in the Queensland Cup as he waited for a chance to impress the Broncos and, finally, in a rousing 40 minutes featuring incisive running, he looked a fully fledged and fearless NRL half.

Then a hamstring strain sent him out of the match and back into no-man’s land. He deserves to rise again.

SLOPPY SHARKS I

The Sharks were shattered by the loss to the Broncos and so they should have been.

For the third week in a row they had scored more tries than the opposition and lost.

If you cannot put the ball through the posts, you are doomed in the modern game.

Josh Dugan cuts a dejected figure after Cronulla’s defeat to Brisbane. Picture: Getty Images

SLOPPY SHARKS II

Dumb acts on a football field deserve to be punished.

The Sharks had the Broncos at their mercy when they led by 10 points but it all changed when Kyle Flanagan recklessly dropped his knee into Matt Lodge’s head.

Silly stuff from a team desperate for a win.

TIPSTER’S TORMENT

The Broncos’ semi-finals hopes continue to hang by a thread and so do the hopes of a bunch of tipsters who forecast big things for them this season.

A check of The Courier-Mail’s 12 league tipsters’ pre-season predictions show two (including, ahem, yours truly) tipping the Broncos to win the title, two said they would run second, two third, three fourth, and none lower than sixth forecast by Australian coach Mal Meninga.