Tevita Pangai Jr plots return to Brisbane Broncos in 2024 following shock NRL retirement

He shocked the NRL world by quitting rugby league six months ago to take up professional boxing. Now Tevita Pangai Jr could be back in Broncos colours in 2024 after meeting with club officials.

Tevita Pangai jnr. Picture: AAP/Darren England

NSW Origin star Tevita Pangai Jr is set for a shock return to the NRL with the boxing convert plotting a Broncos comeback in 2024.

Pangai Jr has held informal talks with Brisbane bosses to explore the prospect of a comeback to rugby league, just six months after he quit the Bulldogs to pursue a career in boxing.

Brisbane has not tabled a deal at this stage, but Pangai Jr has met with key club identities with a view to wearing Broncos colours this season.

It is understood Pangai Jr plans to emulate rugby league legend-turned-prize-fighter by juggling the high-level demands of NRL with his ambitions in boxing.

The 27-year-old has inked a two-fight deal and will return to the ring in March. He then hopes to link with the Broncos in June or July for a late-season cameo, just as he did with Penrith in its charge to the NRL title in 2021.

Pangai Jr spent six seasons at the Broncos before being released in 2021 due to salary-cap pressures and he set tongues wagging last week by making a surprise appearance as a spectator at Brisbane training.

Tevita Pangai Jr had six seasons with the Broncos before leaving the club in 2021. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

After quitting the Bulldogs, the former Tongan Test ace returned to live in Brisbane to ramp up his boxing career and maintains close friendships with Broncos stars Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan.

The proposed return of Pangai Jr would inject Origin-quality firepower to a Brisbane side on the cusp of a premiership breakthrough after last season’s heartbreaking last-minute loss to Penrith in the grand final.

The Broncos’ grand-final squad has been decimated in the off-season, losing four players from their top 17 in the NRL decider – Dolphins defectors Tom Flegler and Herbie Farnworth, Keenan Palasia (Titans) and vice-captain Kurt Capewell (Warriors).

Following Capewell’s recent departure, the Broncos have three vacancies left on their 30-man full-time roster for 2024 – opening the door for Pangai Jr.

The Broncos are scouring the player market for a forward to fill the Flegler-Capewell void and Pangai Jr looks an ideal option at the right price.

The 117kg powerhouse remains committed to boxing – he is unbeaten in three professional bouts – and said he believed he could play NRL for another five years while he continued his careful progression as a heavyweight in the fight game.

Pangai Jr could walk a similar dual-sporting path as former NSW Origin skipper Gallen, who mixed 348 NRL games for Cronulla with 18 professional fights from 2014-22.

Tevita Pangai Jr was snapped at broncos training. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Pangai Jr has spoken of his struggles adjusting to life in Sydney at the Bulldogs. But by moving to Brisbane, the one-game Origin forward has been able to train full-time with his boxing coach, Chris McCullen, in the same region as the Broncos club he never wanted to leave.

While the Broncos have some salary-cap pressures as they look to extend Ezra Mam, Reece Walsh and Adam Reynolds, they might be able to afford Pangai Jr depending on his nominal value with the NRL.

Pangai Jr was on $750,000 at the Bulldogs last season. Should the NRL impose that salary-cap estimate, a short-term, four-month deal for Pangai Jnr this season could cost the Broncos about $250,000.

A veteran of 138 NRL games, Pangai Jr is in peak fitness ahead of his next fight in March and could hit the ground running for the Broncos in the crucial winter months, when Brisbane is aiming to make a formidable finals run.

Pangai Jr was one of the most versatile forwards in the NRL. He could either help replace Flegler up front for the Broncos or provide experienced support on the edge for rising back-rowers Jordan Riki and Brendan Piakura.

Broncos chairman Karl Morris said last year the club severed ties with Pangai Jnr on good terms after a turbulent stint that included being punished in 2020 for breaching the NRL’s strict Covid protocols.

Broncos star Pat Carrigan is keen to see his good mate TPJ back at Red Hill.

“I was disappointed it didn’t work out because he has immense talent,” Morris said.

“But with talent you have to have the discipline to go with it.

“He had some very good mentoring from rugby league people and others outside the game. It is well known Corey Parker (former Broncos skipper) helped him out.

“We were really disappointed it didn’t work out given the effort we went to.

“I was a bit worried about him at the time (during Pangai Jnr’s Covid breach) so we tried to get him as much help as we could.

“We put a lot of time and effort into Tevita but that’s what the Broncos do.

“We wished him all the best.”

Originally published as Tevita Pangai Jr plots return to Brisbane Broncos in 2024 following shock NRL retirement