Tevita Pangai Junior Jr. snubs Wayne Bennett for shock move

Tevita Pangai Jr. had been heavily linked to following Wayne Bennett to Souths but the hulking forward has dropped a bombshell.

Tevita Pangai Jr was expected to follow Bennett. Photo: NRL and Getty Images

Say what you want for Tevita Pangai Junior Jr. — the man never does what you’d expect.

The 28-year-old has left the NRL stunned once again after he was expected to follow supercoach Wayne Bennett from the Dolphins to South Sydney, but has instead signed a one-year deal with Super League club Catalans Dragons.

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Pangai Jr. stunned the NRL last year when he walked out on a $750,000 deal at the Bulldogs to take up boxing.

He told media at the time that “my heart’s in boxing”, but after an unconvincing win over Frank Amato and a TKO win over Raphael Sa’u before a shock first-round KO at the hands of Kenny Niko seemed to have the hulking forward wanting a return to rugby league.

Even when he was claiming boxing was his future, he was linked to a move to the Dolphins, eventually joining the club in June after a stint in the Queensland Cup with Souths Logan.

But with supercoach Wayne Bennett heading to South Sydney next year, it was believed Pangai Jr. was set to follow.

However, The Courier Mail reported on Tuesday night that Pangai Jr. would walk out on the NRL and join the Super League club in a shock move.

Pangai Jr. is on the move. Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images

The report suggested Souths were battling salary cap issues but rather than try to squeeze under the cap, he’d link with Roosters halfback Luke Keary at the French club.

Pangai Jr. had no shortage of interest with the Dolphins, Souths and another Super League club in the mix, but he decided on moving to France after discussions with coach Steve McNamara.

The one-year deal does give Pangai Jr. plenty of leeway with options to return if Souths have more room for him, or potentially biding his time to join a new franchise.

Having played nine seasons in the NRL, Pangai Jr. has played for four clubs — Brisbane, Penrith, Canterbury and the Dolphins — with questions arising as to how he fits into clubs.

But Wayne Bennett has rubbished any suggestions about Pangai Jr. being difficult.

“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.

“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.”