The Gold Coast Bulletin

Rival clubs eye novice Broncos forwards

- TRAVIS MEYN

THE Broncos are facing a $1 million battle to retain boom props Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai Jr in the wake of the dynamic duo’s explosive start to the NRL season.

Lodge and Pangai Jr collective­ly boast just 50 NRL matches but have defied critics to cement themselves as Brisbane’s starting front-rowers.

Coach Wayne Bennett has been searching for props to lead Brisbane’s engine room like Origin stars Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva did in the club’s last premiershi­p season in 2006.

Bennett may have finally found the right duo in Lodge and Pangai Jr, however he now faces a battle to keep them in Broncos colours.

Lodge and Pangai Jr, both 22, are off contract this season and have attracted significan­t interest from rival clubs. The Knights have publicly declared they are keen to lure Pangai Jr home to Newcastle while Penrith boss Phil Gould has set his sights on bringing Lodge, a Panthers junior, back to the foot of the Blue Mountains.

The rise of Lodge, playing on a minimum wage this season, and Pangai Jr could see them demand salaries in excess of $500,000 a year on the open market.

Broncos captain Darius Boyd said the duo had the potential to be Brisbane’s starting props for the next decade.

“Tevita has been our best player in the first few rounds,” Boyd said. “With all the (offfield) things Lodgey has had to deal with, he is getting better every week. They are both young guys and could be the Broncos front row for the next eight to 10 years.”

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia