Bronco’s jump hits hurdle over money
A SALARY cap squeeze has emerged as a hurdle in Penrith’s attempt to sign Broncos forward Tevita Pangai Jr on a three-month cameo deal.
News Corp can reveal the NRL’s salary cap auditor wanted the Panthers to pay at least $130,000 for Pangai to embark on an immediate switch from the Broncos to chase a shock premiership ring at Penrith.
But with the Panthers having an estimated $80,000 in their cap to fund a late-season move, Penrith faced offloading another player to the Broncos as part of a straightswap arrangement.
It essentially means the Panthers are $50,000 shy of securing Pangai, who was also being chased by the Wests Tigers.
It is understood a thirdparty associate reached out to the Broncos to discuss a trade in the lead-up to Brisbane’s clash against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Pangai indicated he was keen to make a short-term move as a preamble to taking up a three-year, $2.2m deal with the Bulldogs from next season.
That scenario would have seen him go from the outhouse to the penthouse. After claiming a wooden spoon at the Broncos last year, he entertained the prospect of rocketing into the frame for a premiership ring at the powerhouse Panthers before his shift to Belmore.
Penrith has one vacancy on its full-time roster and the reigning minor premier had interest in securing Pangai to bolster its premiership push.
The Panthers are aware he is headed to the Bulldogs next year, but believe the 113kg Tongan torpedo could bring X-factor in their quest to go all the way this year after their 2020 grand-final loss to the Storm.
They ostensibly have another 12 days to pull off the buy, but unless the NRL softens its salary cap stance, time is running out for the Broncos hulk to leave before the August 2 transfer deadline.
Broncos football boss Ben Ikin said he was happy for Pangai to finish this season at Red Hill, but said Brisbane was equally open to an immediate move if it could strike the right transfer deal.
“Tevita is sorted for next year, that’s as much as I know at the moment,” Ikin said.
“At this stage, our plan is for him to finish the year with us, but there’s a few clubs that could look at him.
“He is keen to lock away his future and in the last few days we have been working through this with his agent.
“We’ve had to make some tough calls with our roster and there’s a whole stack of considerations that need to be taken into account.”
Penrith chief Brian Fletcher confirmed the club had talks with Pangai’s agent, but said the Panthers were content with their roster.
While new Canterbury football boss Phil Gould was a factor in Pangai’s decision, the 25-year-old went within a whisker of signing with western Sydney rival the Tigers.
He was on the verge of committing to the Tigers only for the deal to collapse when Wests bosses got cold feet and walked away from talks.
By the time Tigers coach Michael Maguire confirmed he was keen, the Bulldogs had moved quickly with a threeyear, $2.2m deal.