NRL 2024: Tevita Pangai Jr to make rugby league comeback for Broncos feeder club Souths Logan
He has a dream to return to the Broncos and now Tevita Pangai Jr is officially coming back to rugby league, turning out for Brisbane feeder club Souths Logan this weekend.
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Tevita Pangai Jr will launch his comeback to rugby league on Saturday when he turns out for Brisbane feeder club Souths Logan in the first step towards his planned return to the Broncos.
This masthead can reveal the Queensland Rugby League has registered Pangai Jr’s deal ahead of his big-name debut for the Magpies in their Hostplus Cup season opener against the Redcliffe Dolphins.
It caps a remarkable career resurrection for Pangai Jr, who dropped a bombshell on the Bulldogs last August when he quit the club immediately to become a professional boxer.
But the 28-year-old has had a change of heart since returning to live in Brisbane and believes he can juggle the dual demands of boxing and rugby league with a view to a potential second coming at the Broncos.
Now the Red Hill dream could become reality.
Pangai Jr has not been named in Souths Logan’s round 1 team but coach Karmichael Hunt will add him to his 17-man squad and deploy the Tongan torpedo as an interchange strike weapon at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium.
Speaking exclusively to News Corp, the former NSW Origin enforcer confirmed Stage One in his NRL comeback mission is underway after training with the Magpies for the past fortnight.
“I’m playing this weekend,” Pangai Jr said.
“I have been having itchy feet for a few weeks.
“I was thinking about playing in a trial (for Souths Logan) but I felt I wasn’t ready.
“I want to get amongst it — I’ll be coming off the back fence and getting stuck in.”
With Pangai Jr due to have his fourth professional fight on March 23 at Ipswich, the 114kg wrecking ball will wear headgear against the Dolphins to minimise the potential of a head cut that could put his boxing bout in jeopardy.
TPJ last played for the Magpies in 2017 and is expected to be rolled out for a 20-minute cameo before increasing his minutes after his upcoming fight.
“It took a lot of convincing for my promoter to allow it,” Pangai Jr said.
“My promoter has asked me to wear headgear to prevent getting any cuts.
“It’s a bit of a risk with my fight around the corner but I’m desperate to play league again.
“Karmichael will manage my minutes this weekend, but hopefully they can be effective minutes and I can be nice and explosive for my team.
“I won’t play too much. With my boxing fight coming up, I have to come back slowly.
“I will play about 20 minutes off the bench and I can play that power game that I like playing.
“Playing off the bench is a strength of mine, I think I can be better off interchange when everyone is tiring and I can come on and do some damage.”
The Broncos held informal talks with Pangai Jr last month. Brisbane cannot afford the 138-game NRL veteran for a full season under the salary cap, but signing Pangai Jr to a four-month deal — at a nominal value of around $277,000 — could be an option.
Broncos superstar prop Payne Haas is close to Pangai Jr — the pair often train together — and he hopes his good mate returns to Red Hill.
“Hopefully Tevita can come back to rugby league,” Haas said a fortnight ago.
“Obviously you would love to have a player like Tevita at your club, but my focus is just on the team we have now.
“I feel like Tevita is in his prime now and if he ever did want to come back, it would be great.”
Pangai Jr is adamant he can mix boxing and football, even at the highest level of the NRL.
“There’s no nerves coming back,” he said.
“When you take punches from heavyweight boxers, being tackled in rugby league is not so bad.
“I love the contact of rugby league, it’s right up my alley, so I can’t wait to rip in for the Magpies and run hard.”
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Originally published as NRL 2024: Tevita Pangai Jr to make rugby league comeback for Broncos feeder club Souths Logan
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