Pangai tipped to terrorise

Bennett warns Maroons

Wayne Bennett has tipped Blues bolter Tevita Pangai Jr to terrorise the Maroons after an unlikely Queensland trio delivered NSW its latest Origin enforcer.

The forward has fought back from the brink of being a NSW outcast to clinch his maiden Blues jersey in Wednesday’s State of Origin series-opener in Adelaide.

Pangai Jr was once so on the nose at the Broncos in 2020 that he was facing the prospect of being sacked, let alone playing in the NRL’s biggest arena.

But he has fought back from those dark days at Red Hill, with Queensland figures Bennett, Darren Lockyer and Corey Parker playing key roles in his career revival.

Bennett brought Pangai Jr to the Broncos from Canberra in 2016 and coached him to a stunning start to his NRL career which saw him earn comparisons to Cowboys superstar Jason Taumalolo.

Now Bennett is tipping Pangai Jr to dominate in the Origin furnace following his shock selection for the Blues.

“I was absolutely elated for Tevita,” Bennett said.

“He has been an Origin player for a long, long time but has never been picked for whatever reason.

“He will be a real thorn in Queensland’s side.”

Despite being born in Sydney and eligible for NSW, Pangai Jr briefly abandoned the Blues in 2018 after deciding to dedicate his representative future to Tonga following his 2017 Test debut. At the time he didn’t realise he could play for Tonga and NSW under the representative eligibility rules and he later infuriated the Blues when he claimed he was a Queensland supporter.

Pangai Jr’s performances for the Broncos dipped following Bennett’s sacking in 2018 and he was on the verge of being axed by Brisbane in 2020 following numerous Covid protocol breaches.

He was eventually released by the Broncos in 2021 and joined Penrith briefly before heading to Canterbury last year, where his performances have been mixed.

“It would be easy to blame Tevita, but he went through a pretty tough time at the club (Broncos), a lot of players did, after I left,” Bennett said.

“He came there because of me. If you go back to that period (2016-18) he was absolutely outstanding. He tore teams apart.

“He did things other guys can’t do, that’s his big threat. They can all run hard, but he is very capable of putting on a show.

“He sent me a nice text message (after being selected for NSW) which I really appreciated. I’m not going to tell you what the text message was about but it was a nice message.

“He is a wonderful player. He’s not different, he just needs what a lot of young men need – a bit of guidance, discipline and plenty of direction.”

As Pangai Jr faced the sack at the Broncos, he found an ally in Maroons legend Lockyer, who helped get his career back on track.