Broncos turn down Paul Vaughan approach as transfer door opens for Tevita Pangai Jnr

The NRL transfer market has gone into overdrive following the sacking of St George Illawarra forward Paul Vaughan.

Paul Vaughan and Tevita Pangai Jnr have uncertain futures.

Brisbane have ruled out throwing a lifeline to sacked Dragons prop Paul Vaughan as the Broncos remain open to an immediate transfer deal for rampaging forward Tevita Pangai Jnr.

The Broncos have been offered the services of Cronulla’s Aaron Woods and Canberra’s Ryan James and Vaughan was the latest front-row recruitment proposal in the wake of his sacking by the Dragons on Tuesday for another Covid breach.

It is understood the Broncos have around $300,000 to spend under their salary cap on another forward, prompting Brisbane’s recruitment-and-retention committee to weigh up the pros and cons of signing Vaughan on a cut-price deal.

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The 30-year-old Vaughan has played six Origin matches for NSW and two Tests for Australia and the Broncos’ youthful pack could benefit from his experience as a 181-game NRL veteran.

Brisbane’s new head-of-football Ben Ikin confirmed the club remains active in the player market, but insists the controversial Vaughan will not be at Red Hill next season as the Broncos look to clean up their image.

Tevita Pangai Jnr could be packing his bags for the Red Hill exits this season.

“No, we won’t be making an offer for Paul Vaughan,” Ikin said.

“There are a number of props around but Vaughan just doesn’t fit in with what we’re considering in terms of roster planning.

“I won’t go into too much detail but there are a couple of scenarios at play between now and the end of the season about what we need to fill, how we fill it, and how much money we’ve got to fill it.

“It’s a moving feast at the moment. The player market is so fluid that we’ve got multiple scenarios.”

Paul Vaughan is being shopped around following his sacking (Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Broncos released Matt Lodge to the Warriors last week and they may require another experienced forward option if Pangai Jnr’s tumultuous tenure in Brisbane finally comes to an end.

Former NSW Origin bookend Woods has been shopped to the Broncos, but the Sharks prop did himself no favours with an uninspiring display in Cronulla’s 26-18 loss to Brisbane last Sunday.

While Broncos coach Kevin Walters intimated last week that Pangai Jnr would now see out his Brisbane contract, which expires at the end of next year, News Corp understands the 25-year-old will leave sooner rather than later.

The Tigers and Bulldogs have been linked with Pangai Jnr, as have the Dragons, who will have more cash to spend under the salary-cap following the termination of Vaughan.

The Broncos remain open to a transfer deal for Pangai Jnr, who could end up at the Dragons following the sacking of Vaughan.

Asked if the Broncos will let Pangai Jnr go immediately if a palatable transfer deal is tabled, Ikin said: “Everything will be considered on its own merits, yes.

“We will base our decision with Tevita on what gets put to us.

“At this stage, we are committed to getting the best out of the players that we’ve got, for as long as they are here, for the rest of the season.

“The roster-management issue is sitting in the background with many moving parts.

“We will be as well-advanced in the planning as we can across multiple scenarios, so that if something is put to us, then we are well-prepared to make a decision at speed.

“If Tevita’s management comes back to us with something concrete, then we will sit down and work our way through it.”

Originally published as Broncos turn down Paul Vaughan approach as transfer door opens for Tevita Pangai Jnr