Broncos’ big boost in race to re-sign Tevita Pangai Jr
Brisbane have gotten a massive boost in their quest to lock Tevita Pangai Junior into a long term deal. Read that and more in today’s Blindside with Peter Badel and Travis Meyn.
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The Broncos have received a boost in their battle to retain Tevita Pangai Jr with their main threat – South Sydney – all but ruling out a poaching attempt on the blockbusting forward.
Pangai Jr was such a huge fan of Wayne Bennett he personally phoned him three years ago wanting out of Canberra to play under the super coach at Red Hill.
Now that Bennett has moved to South Sydney, the Rabbitohs were tipped to be in the box seat to snare Pangai Jr.
Intriguingly, Pangai Jr only signed a one-year extension with the Broncos last December, fuelling the belief it is only a matter of time before he reunited with Bennett at Redfern.
There is just one problem for the Rabbitohs – salary-cap pressures.
Pangai Jr will look to start negotiations in the coming months and while he is sure to attract plenty of interest, Bennett is unlikely to make a play for the 23-year-old due. Pangai Jr is set to command more than $700,000 a season and Souths will struggle to find the cash under the salary cap to accommodate him.
Pangai Jr has had a disrupted pre-season with a hamstring complaint but says he is enjoying the new set-up under Anthony Seibold.
BRENNAN UNLEASHES ON TERRIBLE TITANS
Titans coach Garth Brennan sprayed his team after the Gold Coast’s shocking Round 1 loss to Canberra.
The Titans were terrible in a 21-0 defeat to the Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium last Sunday after spending the pre-season talking about how improved they would be in 2019.
Some coaches say you must pick your moments to blast your team given the novelty can wear off, but Brennan hasn’t wasted any time.
“It was a controlled blast,” said five-eighth AJ Brimson.
“We definitely deserved it. We deserved a bit of a spray.
“It wasn’t all negative. He said we didn’t give ourselves much opportunity.
“After all the possession they had it could have been worse.”
MEN OF LEAGUE LUNCH
Brisbane’s round-three clash against the Dragons will have a busy build-up headed by a Men of League lunch at the Broncos next Wednesday. The gala event will feature interviews with Chris Johns and Michael De Vere, who both played for the Red V before they joined the Broncos. Johns, who turned 55 last week, played 54 games for the Dragons, while De Vere famously wrote a letter to super coach Wayne Bennett begging for a start at the Broncos. Tickets are $25. Phone (07) 3367 6002 or email brisbane@menofleague.com to attend the event.
TIME DRAWS NEAR FOR DEARDEN
This is the photo which shows Broncos young gun Tom Dearden is making huge strides at Red Hill. Dearden turned 18 last week and has put on a whopping 6kg in just three weeks as part of coach Anthony Seibold’s plan to bulk him up to be ready for NRL action.
Dearden played a trial against the Titans on March 2 weighing 78kg. Now the Mackay product tips the scales at 84kg as Broncos conditioning staff work overtime on adding muscle to Dearden’s young frame.
The teenager is rated a future halfback superstar but Seibold knows Dearden must get bigger to survive against 110kg forward giants in the NRL.
Don’t be surprised if Dearden makes his NRL debut this season.
CARTWRIGHT’S BULLYING REVELATION
Titans star Bryce Cartwright has opened up about the toll social media bullying has had on him.
Cartwright was hammered last season following a string of poor performances in his first year at the Gold Coast.
He has also attracted attention for his anti-vaccination views after his wife, Shanelle, posted about it on social media.
Cartwright said the criticism about his on and off-field life was taxing.
“It’s hard, you can’t really prepare for stuff like that,” he said.
“I don’t have social media but you still hear it around places and see it. It takes its toll on yourself and your family.
“If I go out there and play good footy then no one talks. I just need to block it out and worry about the opinions of people that matter.”
BENNETT LANDS IN BRA BOY LAND
They are one of the world’s most notorious surfing gangs and now the Bra Boys have their most famous recruit – Wayne Bennett. After months of real-estate searching, Bennett has settled in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at Maroubra, home to the beach where the Bra Boys have dominated for decades.
Despite the rat race and heavy traffic of Sydney, Bennett is loving life in Maroubra, a quieter part of the eastern suburbs compared to Bondi and Coogee. Bennett’s Souths backrower John Sutton is a well-known Bra Boy but we don’t think ‘Benny’ will be getting a ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ tattoo any time soon.
LISTEN NOW! The Matty Johns podcast is now live. He is joined by Paul Kent and James Hooper to debate the big issues including Taumalolo’s impact, the Dragons’ big Widdop problem and to tell some hilarious war stories.
BRENNAN’S FAMILY LINK TO ROBERTS
Injured Titans five-eighth Tyrone Roberts has had a long association with coach Garth Brennan and even a family connection.
Roberts was 14 when he met Brennan after moving to Newcastle from Ballina and was coached by him throughout his juniors.
And now they also catch up at family gatherings.
“My wife (Brittany) is his niece,” Roberts said.
“I knew him before I met my wife. When I was 14 and first moved to Newcastle he was my 16s, 18s and 20s coach.”
Brennan also has a similar family link with prop Jack Stockwell.
NO BEACH FOR BIG MAN
Titans prop Shannon Boyd is one of the first NRL players that hates the beach to move to the Gold Coast.
Boyd inked a $2 million deal with the Titans for four years to leave Canberra but he doesn’t want anything to do with the beach.
Instead, he lives in the Gold Coast hinterland on 11 acres with dogs, horses and chickens.
“I’m not a big fan of the sand,” Boyd said.
“I’m from the bush and a farm. It’s nice to have a bit of room.
“It’s a bit of a zoo out there.”
GUESS WHO?
Which big-name NRL player was offloaded to a rival club this season because his former club was sick of him bullying younger players? The player in question was said to be toxic for club culture. The senior group at the player’s new club have made it clear they won’t tolerate trash-talking big heads. Hopefully the well-paid star has learnt his lesson.
PLAYING STOCKS
RISING
Jason Taumalolo – The Cowboys monster can carry North Queensland to its second NRL premiership by himself if he can regularly rack up 300m games.
John Bateman – The Raiders’ English import was close to best on ground in his NRL debut against the Titans and looks to be an exciting prospect for Canberra.
Felise Kaufusi – The Storm backrower terrorised the Broncos and has taken his game to another level after breaking into the Queensland Origin side.
Robbie Farah – The Tigers veteran bagged a double in his first game of the season to prove there is some fight left in him.
FALLING
Matt Lodge – The Broncos prop produced a dumb tackle to earn himself a two-week suspension when Brisbane could least afford to lose him.
Titans – Talked up all pre-season how good they would be before producing a stinker of a performance in round one to lose 21-0 to Canberra.
Dean Pay - The Bulldogs coach oversaw a Mad Monday debacle at the end of last season and then suffered the biggest round one loss.
Ivan Cleary – The Panthers moved mountains to get him in as coach and lost their opening round match to wooden spoon contenders Parramatta.
Originally published as Broncos’ big boost in race to re-sign Tevita Pangai Jr
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