Wayne Bennett reveals how he will unlock Tevita Pangai Junior’s full potential at Dolphins

Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett has launched a staunch defence of Tevita Pangai Jr, slamming the negative tags which have stuck to the polarising forward throughout his career.

(L-R) Wayne Bennett and Tevita Pangai Jr. Picture: Supplied

Wayne Bennett has rubbished suggestions Tevita Pangai Jr is an inconsistent “troublemaker” and backed the new Dolphins recruit to prove his critics wrong in his stunning return to the NRL.

Comeback kid Pangai Jr will report for Redcliffe training on Monday after inking a short-term deal with the Dolphins ahead of Thursday night’s clash against ladder leaders Cronulla at Shark Park.

Pangai Jr is available for selection but Bennett is unlikely to blood him for a week or two given the Tongan Torpedo hasn’t played NRL in 10 months after quitting the Bulldogs to take up professional boxing.

Having put boxing on hold after his knockout loss last month, Pangai Jr is relishing a second coming in the NRL and at age 28, time is on his side to fulfil his potential in rugby league.

Bennett gave Pangai Jr his NRL debut at the Broncos in 2016 and the super coach says the 114kg powerhouse, a veteran of 138 first-grade games, will deliver for the Dolphins.

“We haven’t seen the best of Tevita,” Bennett said.

“I was always happy to consider signing him, but I wanted to make sure we did it properly without the media knowing about it.

(L-R) Wayne Bennett and Tevita Pangai Jr. Picture: Supplied

“I didn’t want it to be a circus. Tevita doesn’t need any more circus, he just needs good stability and I will let him get on with being the footballer that we all know he can be.

“I have always rated Tevita as a player and appreciated coaching him and what he brings. Unfortunately, I went my way (after being sacked by the Broncos in 2018) and left him behind in Brisbane.

“Ever since then it’s been a bit of a battle for him, but this an opportunity for Tevita to get back into the NRL again and show me what he really has.

“We have seen glimpses of his best, but the key for Tevita to succeed is for him to be in a stable environment.

“We will provide that at the Dolphins and I’m confident that will bring out the best in his footy.”

It’s been a wild and tumultuous past year for Pangai Jr.

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Just 12 months ago, he was celebrating the high-point of his career when he made his NSW Origin debut, but three months later, he dropped a bombshell on the Bulldogs by quitting the NRL and walking away from a $750,000 contract.

After moving back to Brisbane to focus on family and boxing, ‘TPJ’ made a solid start in the fight game, winning twice, but then suffered a savage 69-second knockout loss to Kenny Niko in his fifth professional bout.

His passion for league never truly dimmed and Pangai Jr had recent preliminary chats with the Broncos and Storm, but neither club tabled a formal offer, opening the door for Bennett to pounce.

There is a view Pangai Jr is a high-maintenance player who fails to perform consistently, but Bennett hit back at claims the controversial enforcer is hard to handle.

“Tevita is no troublemaker, that’s ridiculous,” he said.

“He’s gone through a number of coaches and a few situations he had no control over.

“At one stage, he had six coaches in four years, he went off to Penrith, then to Canterbury, so there’s been a lot of change for Tevita.

“What I like about Tevita is that he has a strong personality, he knows what he wants and how he wants to be coached.

“Tevita sticks up for himself, but just because you stand up for yourself it doesn’t make you a troublemaker.

(L-R) Tevita Pangai Junior and Wayne Bennett during their time together at the Broncos in 2018. Picture: Dave Hunt

“I’ve never had one problem with Tevita.

“That’s the quality I seek in young people, to have the moral courage to stand for something.”

Pangai Jr has played three games for Broncos feeder club Souths Logan this season in the Queensland Cup, running for 171 metres with four tackle busts, 18 tackles and no misses in the Magpies’ clash against Northern Pride three weeks ago.

With Origin forwards Tom Flegler and Tom Gilbert sidelined for an extended period, the Dolphins need some muscle and Bennett believes Pangai Jr will be a handy weapon as Redcliffe chase a historic finals berth.

“Tevita is a tremendous athlete and he has a good feel for the game,” he said.

“He understands the game and he knows his position really well.

“He is an extremely powerful athlete, so he will bring all those qualities which we need.

“We’ve lost Flegler and Tom Gilbert so Tevita will give us some experience in the middle.

“Tevita has all the talent but he just has to put his head down and get the job done.

“I’m looking forward to working with him again.”

HOW TPJ COUP UNFOLDED

Tevita Pangai Jr is back in the NRL.

This masthead can reveal the former NSW Origin enforcer-turned-professional boxer has signed with the Dolphins after being handed a lifeline by his former Broncos mentor Wayne Bennett.

Pangai Jr met with Dolphins bosses on Thursday night to ink the deal.

Bennett advised the Dolphins playing group on Friday morning of Pangai Jr’s signature for the rest of this season after striking before the June 30 transfer deadline.

The deal is effective immediately, with Pangai Jr to be available for selection for the Dolphins’ round 15 clash against Cronulla on Thursday, June 13.

Bennett confirmed the deal with the Tongan World Cup forward to report for Dolphins training on Monday.

“I am really looking forward to Tevita getting back on the field and I am so glad it is with the Dolphins,” Bennett said.

“He is a good player that I have always enjoyed coaching, and I think he will be a strong addition to our squad.”

The Dolphins have been rocked by a forward injury crisis this season with Queensland Origin star Tom Gilbert missing the entire season after snapping his ACL and star Broncos recruit Tom Flegler sidelined for the past two months with a shoulder problem.

Meanwhile, front-row enforcer Jesse Bromwich has sustained rib-cartilage damage with the inspirational skipper racing the clock to be fit for the Sharks clash.

That has prompted Bennett to move swiftly to bolster his forward stocks by signing his former Broncos protege Pangai Jr in a desperate bid to keep the depleted Dolphins in touch with the top four.

It caps a remarkable resurrection for Pangai Jr, who dropped a bombshell last August when he suddenly quit the Bulldogs and the NRL to become a professional boxer.

The 28-year-old moved back to Brisbane to take up the fight game and after two victories, he suffered a savage 69-second knockout loss to Kenny Niko last month as the main event on his own promotional boxing card.

Pangai Jr has been linked with the Broncos and Storm in recent months - he held informal talks with Brisbane coach Kevin Walters and Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy - but no deals were ever tabled.

Now the Tongan torpedo has finally landed a deal with Bennett, who gave Pangai Jr his NRL debut at the Broncos in 2016 and believes he can get the best out of the enigmatic forward.

“I am very much looking forward to being coached by both Wayne and Kristian Woolf as I have a long history with both of them,” said Pangai, who has been coached by Woolf in the Tongan Test team.

“I am excited about being back in the NRL again and re-establishing myself as a full-time NRL player, as well as being part of what the Dolphins could do this season.”

Bennett will link with South Sydney from next season and there is a possibility ‘TPJ’ could follow the super coach to the Rabbitohs, who are in desperate need of front-row talent.

Pangai Jr is in the best shape of his career - his boxing training has helped him trim down to 114kg - and he has played three games for Brisbane’s feeder club Souths Logan in the Queensland Cup this season.

The 138-game NRL veteran ran for 171 metres with four tackle busts, 18 tackles and no misses in Souths Logan’s clash against Northern Pride a fortnight ago.

In March, Bennett confirmed the Dolphins had enough money under the salary cap to afford Pangai Jr.

Now the deal is done.

“I know Tevita well, I know what he can do, he is a wonderful player and I have a lot of time for him,” Bennett said at the time.

“He is Tevita, mate. He can play.

“There’s lots of things we have done well here and one thing we have done well is hold our nerve and not waste our money and not waste positions.

“We have money to buy a player, we have two players still to fill up 30 positions, so we are probably a couple of million dollars under the salary cap because we haven’t (filled our roster).”

As a teenager, Pangai Jr famously quit Canberra after personally phoning Bennett to be mentored by the super coach at the Broncos.

Now the pair are reunited and Pangai Jr is determined not to let Bennett down as he looks to help the Dolphins to a historic playoffs campaign in just their second season in the competition.

“I have a lot of respect for Wayne,” the former Broncos and Bulldogs forward said last month.

“He was the reason I went to the Broncos, he always got the best out of me as a footballer and he cared for me on a personal level as well.

“I think he can do for me what he did for Jamayne Isaako.

“Jamayne went to the Dolphins and had an incredible season back under Wayne.

“I feel like I have a point to prove to myself, there’s unfinished business.

“I have spoken to people in the game about my lack of consistency and I want to put that to bed and be a consistent footy player.

“I will try and get back to the NRL somehow ... I will go the tough route and start again.”

His coach at Souths Logan, former Broncos Origin star Karmichael Hunt, is adamant Pangai Jr is not a spent force in the NRL.

“Someone of his ability not contracted to an NRL club, it only takes an injury or two for coaches to look for replacements,” he said.

“Tevita expressed to me how keen he was to come back and play and we were more than happy to accommodate him.

“Tevita is an Origin and Test player, so he can definitely succeed in the NRL again.”