NRL 2020: Tevita Pangai Jr faces contract rejection, Broncos players divided

Tevita Pangai’s disturbing admission may cost him an NRL gig next year as the Broncos deal with a bitter divide in the playing ranks.

Tevita Pangai Jr isn’t the only player causing issues in Brisbane.

A rift in the Broncos playing ranks has been revealed as it emerged Tevita Pangai Jr may not be able to play in the NRL next year.

The gun forward has been fined $30,000 and stood down for a string of biosecurity breaches, the most notable being his appearance at the opening of a Brisbane barber shop with links to the Mongols bikies.

Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Pangai has hired legal representation to defend himself as the Broncos push to sack the 24-year-old, but he also has problems with the NRL after admitting to multiple instances where he broke COVID-19 regulations and, remarkably, told the league he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t infringe further.

Sydney Morning Herald sports writer Andrew Webster said NRL bosses are “filthy” with Pangai’s blatant disregard for the rules, designed to keep the competition alive in the face of a global pandemic.

As a result, he may have trouble getting a contract registered in 2021.

“As I understand it, the NRL are pretty filthy with the way that his interview went with the Integrity Unit,” Webster said on Channel 9’s 100% Footy.

“I don’t think he is guaranteed of getting a contract registered at the start of next year.

“I can’t believe when he got interviewed by the NRL Integrity Unit last week he said that he had not just breached the biosecurity five times, but also said he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t do it again. That’s the whole reason why they said, ‘You’re not playing again for the rest of the year’.

RELATED: ‘Prominent name’ linked to Seibold rumours

RELATED: Warriors ‘gutted’ by NRL’s $1m blow

Tevita Pangai Jr is on the nose at Red Hill.

“The Broncos think that they’re on pretty firm ground. There’s been five actual breaches of those biosecurity measures that prompted the NRL to stand him down.

“So I don’t know if it’s a question of whether they should sack him, I think they will sack him.”

Webster and rugby league guru Phil Gould also said Brisbane is facing more drama in the form of a divide between the players. Nine commentator and former NSW coach Gould said Pangai isn’t the only star in revolt at Red Hill.

“The rumour has been out of there for a number of months that there is an element within the player ranks at the Broncos that is very disruptive,” Gould said.

“They’ve got no control over it, and they just don’t seem to be able to rein it in. So, I don’t think Tevita Pangai is the only one in this.”

Webster added there was a “split in that playing group”, saying: “There are some that want to be there, there are some that don’t. And there was a dramatic change after the COVID break.”