Tevita Pangai Junior all but certain to stay in Brisbane after verbally agreeing to two-year deal

BRISBANE have held off multimillion-dollar raids from Sydney to hang onto rising forward Tevita Pangai Junior for at least another two seasons.

Tevita Pangai jnr is seen during a Brisbane Broncos training session at Clive Berghofer Field in Brisbane, Monday, July 23, 2018. The Broncos are playing their round 20 NRL match against the Cronulla Sharks on Thursday night in Brisbane. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING

WAYNE Bennett says Tevita Pangai Jr has pledged his future to the Broncos, with Brisbane staving off multimillion-dollar raids from Sydney clubs to secure the NRL’s hottest forward prospect.

In a huge boost for the Broncos, Bennett said Pangai Jr would resist the temptation to test his value on the open market by inking a new deal that keeps him at Red Hill until at least 2020.

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The Broncos were buffeted by speculation during the week that Pangai Jr, off-contract at season’s end, was being targeted by Sydney rivals the Roosters to form a fearsome alliance with Maroons hitman Dylan Napa.

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But the last piece in Brisbane’s premiership retention plan is falling into place, with Bennett insisting the Broncos have the funds to afford the Tongan tearaway under the salary cap.

Brisbane have ramped-up their retention in the past fortnight to secure Matt Gillett, Jaydn Su’A and teenage prop Payne Haas, leaving Pangai Jr and winger Corey Oates without deals for next season.

But negotiations with the pair have been complicated by separate management disputes. Pangai Jr is severing ties with his current agent, a process which cannot be completed until November.

Pangai Junior has become Brisbane’s most important forward. AAP Image/Dave Hunt.

The blockbusting forward cannot formally sign until then but Bennett told The Sunday Mail Pangai Jr had verbally committed to the Broncos in a massive coup for the club.

“Tevita won’t be leaving,” Bennett said.

“He has a management issue to sort through, so we won’t have his deal done for a few months, but Tevita has told us he wants to stay.

“We are very confident of keeping him.

“We’re looking at a two-year deal. I don’t think it’s in Tevita’s best interests to do a four or five-year deal.

“His best years are in front of him, so he will become more valuable in the coming years.”

Former Broncos skipper Gorden Tallis believes Brisbane will have to pay top dollar to retain Pangai Jr.

Tallis rates Pangai Jr as Brisbane’s version of the Cowboys’ $1 million wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo and believes the 22-year-old could soon command a seven-figure salary.

“Tevita is very close to being a $1 million player, he’s a freak,” Tallis said.

Pangai Junior is expected to AAP Image/Darren England.

“Taumalolo I thought was expensive when the Cowboys signed him and now it’s a good deal. One million sounds like a lot of money but the salary cap keeps going up.

“There would be every club going after him (Pangai Jr).

“He is the type of guy you want in your organisation. If his manager is doing the right thing, he would be out there asking every club to get the best price for him.”

Former Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer is a member of the club’s recruitment-and-retention committee and says Brisbane have crunched the numbers to retain Pangai Jr.

“It’s crucial that we keep him,” he said. “He is our version of Jason Taumalolo. We know any club in the game would love to have him, but the Broncos are a good environment for him.”

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