State of Origin 2021: Tevita Pangai Jnr pledges allegiance to NSW Blues

Tevita Pangai Jnr admits he should have listened to his dad and not rushed a decision on representative football, and is now hoping Brad Fittler ‘will throw my hat into the Blues ring’.

Tevita Pangai Jr wants to play Origin for the Blues. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Tevita Pangai Jnr has performed another representative backflip with the Broncos firebrand pledging his allegiance to NSW for this year’s State of Origin series.

Pangai Jnr revealed he has phoned Brad Fittler to inform him he wants to play for the Blues, but not before apologising to the NSW coach for constantly changing his mind.

The Broncos powerhouse surprised Fittler when he decided to focus solely on representing Tonga in 2019, just 12 months after ‘TPJ’ featured in an Emerging Blues camp and was invited to attend a NSW team dinner before Origin III in 2018.

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But in the build-up to Saturday night’s Cowboys-Broncos derby at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Pangai Jnr said he was keen to represent both NSW and Tonga.

Under eligibility rules, players who represent tier-two nations such as Samoa and Tonga are permitted to play State of Origin if they were born in Australia, which is the case with Pangai Jnr.

Tevita Pangai Jnr wants to play for the Blues in this year’s State of Origin series. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys is also exploring the prospect of allowing Polynesian players, such as Jason Taumalolo, to play State of Origin if they lived in Queensland or NSW before their 13th birthday.

“I want to play State of Origin,” Pangai Jnr said.

“I said a few stupid things in the past around not playing Origin.

“Having an 18-week off-season, I had plenty of time to reflect on some of the dumb things I’ve said and done and one of those things was changing my mind on playing for NSW a few years ago.

“I wish I listened to my dad at the time. He said not to rush a decision (on representative football) and now I’m hoping Freddy can throw my hat in the ring and I can put my hand up to play Origin for NSW.”

Pangai Jnr made his Test debut for Tonga at the 2017 World Cup, playing a key role in their fairytale charge to the semi-finals with passionate teammates such as Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita.

Tevita Pangai Jnr, who has played six Tests for Tonga, is eligible to play State of Origin. Picture: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images

Taumalolo has since expressed his desire to play for Queensland, while Pangai Jnr, who has played six Tests for Tonga, has again reached out to Fittler.

“I’ve spoken to ‘Freddy’ (Fittler) and I’ve apologised to him,” he said.

“I know what Origin is about, it’s about defence and being tough and carrying the ball strongly with minimal errors. If I get those silly defensive lapses out of my game, I’d like to think I can test myself in the toughest arena.

“The difference between me and Jase is that I am born-and-bred in NSW, he was born in New Zealand. I’m a Newcastle junior and I played Origin for NSW in junior rep teams.

“Jase has already played for New Zealand so I don’t know what the go is there for him.

“But hopefully with the rules I can put my hand up for Origin and play for Tonga as well.”

NSW Origin prop and Broncos teammate Payne Haas urged Fittler to consider Pangai Jnr for his sky-blue debut.

“I would love to see Tevita in Origin,” he said.

“I love wearing that sky blue jumper and Tevita is a big-game player.

“If he gets chosen this year, he would go well in that arena. I hope he does get picked because he would be awesome for us.”

Originally published as State of Origin 2021: Tevita Pangai Jnr pledges allegiance to NSW Blues