How Wayne Bennett stole young gun Tevita Pangai from under Ricky Stuart’s nose

[Danoz Direct]

THE Broncos stole Canberra young gun Tevita Pangai after getting under Ricky Stuart’s guard to sign him in an airport lounge two days before Christmas.

The clandestine meeting saw Brisbane land a second body blow on Stuart’s Raiders after their initial poaching raid on five-eighth sensation Anthony Milford.
Stuart should be coaching Milford and Pangai in Canberra colours as the Raiders prepare for Thursday night’s showdown with the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.

Instead, Milford and Pangai will return to haunt Stuart, who has overcome the loss of two of the NRL’s hottest prospects to build the Green Machine into a legitimate finals force.
As if stealing Milford was not painful enough, the Broncos then poured salt into Canberra’s wounds by organising a secret meeting with Pangai at Brisbane airport on December 23.
Pangai had phoned Wayne Bennett to inform him he wanted to be mentored by the Broncos coach.
The Junior Kangaroos sensation, likened in style to North Queensland’s Jason Taumalolo, flew from Canberra to Brisbane, where he met Broncos recruitment chief Peter Nolan in the Virgin domestic lounge.
Nolan produced a contract for the 2017-18 seasons, but the Broncos’ Christmas gift arrived earlier than expected when Pangai was granted a release to join Brisbane in February.
Stuart politely declined to comment but Bennett was left stunned by the 20-year-old’s confidence in contacting the NRL’s greatest coach.

“He rang me up,” Bennett said. “I just told him to hop off the phone and I’ll get him here as quick as I can.
“I was surprised when he rang me but the guy is smart, he knows he only has a few opportunities in rugby league and if he doesn’t make good decisions and good choices, you can be at four or five clubs before you are marched out of the competition.
“He realised what he needed and made the phone call to me.
“Tevita is in that rare category of players that has got something. I don’t want to give him a big head but he has a point of difference.
“He didn’t have to convince me about a whole lot of things. He just had to come here and do a bit of time and get used to the club and the people in it. It’s worked for us.”

Pangai, who will play off the bench, captained the Junior Kangaroos last month after the 110kg brute was signed as a 14-year-old in Newcastle by former Knights scout Keith Onslow, the man who spotted Matthew and Andrew Johns.
“He was outstanding, our best young trainee,” Onslow said. “Tevita ticked all the boxes. He was a very good player and I’m not surprised he rang Wayne because he had a personality as big as Texas.
“We were sad to see him leave, but his family moved to Canberra and Tevita had to go with them.
“He’s a very reliable kid, always well-mannered and very switched on. He’s got all the attributes to have a successful career in the NRL.’’

No Cookies | The Courier Mail

 

[I bleed Maroon]

The fact that Stuart let Milf and TPJ slip through his fingers must be getting under his skin every time they play. The post game presser tomorrow night if we win is gonna be fantastic

 

[Nashy]

I hope this has been posted on the GH.

 

[Unbreakable]

Sounds like Wayne has a massive wrap on him.

I'm still not sure what his best position is, he's got the ball skills and footwork of an edge backrower, but he's got the size and punching runs of a prop. I'd say he's the heir to Adam Blair's role, ball playing prop.

Future is looking amazing with him, Arrow, Su'A and Ofahengaue still learning their trades. And they're all 21 or younger!

 

[Danoz Direct]

Sounds like Wayne has a massive wrap on him.

I'm still not sure what his best position is, he's got the ball skills and footwork of an edge backrower, but he's got the size and punching runs of a prop. I'd say he's the heir to Adam Blair's role, ball playing prop.

Future is looking amazing with him, Arrow, Su'A and Ofahengaue still learning their trades. And they're all 21 or younger!

I'd say he could be the Parker replacement when he retires and could play a Tamaulolo roll for us, except he has ball skills.

 

[Unbreakable]

I'd say he could be the Parker replacement when he retires and could play a Tamaulolo roll for us, except he has ball skills.

I started thinking the same, but Arrow is our lock of the future imo, he's got a lot of Corey Parker about him. Pangai seems like the sort of kid you could play anywhere in the forwards and he'd have an impact, in a similar sense to Taumalolo.

 

[Danoz Direct]

I started thinking the same, but Arrow is our lock of the future imo, he's got a lot of Corey Parker about him. Pangai seems like the sort of kid you could play anywhere in the forwards and he'd have an impact, in a similar sense to Taumalolo.

Oh yeah forgot about Arrow, guess it just depends how they develop and what positions need to be filled.

 

[Big Pete]

Ya snooze ya lose.

Ricky Stuart had 2015 to make assurances to Tevita Pangai Jr and kept sending him mixed signals. He had been a NSW Cup player since 2014, the club supposedly had big plans for him signing him to a Top 25 deal yet they dropped him to the NYC before he entered negotiations with the Brisbane Broncos.

This was a player who was already a star in the NYC when he was 17 years old. They had to have known that he was ready to be blooded in 2015 yet went with other options. Where are those options these days? How good is a FPN doing? Mitch Barnett? Mark Nicholls? Jarrad Kennedy? What grand plan were they apart of?

Obviously one that involved getting Joe Tapine, a great prospect, I'm sure Bennett would agree but you can't blame Pangai Jr moving on. Especially when he was receiving mixed signals playing for the Mounties with a view of playing first grade and then being relegated to the mickey mouse league.

All in all, the biggest loser here is Newcastle. Not only did they miss out on a local junior in Pangai, but they also lost Tapine because of Rick Stone and how awful he was with him last year. I must admit, Newcastle is a sore subject for me. I find their plight interesting, especially since our current coach is implicit. I like to see where he went wrong and sift through who was responsible for what. When I look at a player like Joseph Tapine, I blame the management and Rick Stone. Here was one of the few shining beacons of what was a horrific 2014 for the club. A type of player that with some quality coaching and a regular gig could make something of himself. Instead, Tapine went backwards in 2015. In and out of first grade, no real rhyme or reason while other players stunk up the joint. By the time Brown came into town it was too late and Ricky got himself one of the best buys of 2016. And for Newcastle, it isn't just Tapine, look at Mata'utia, Gagai, Roberts, Mamo and all the NYC prospects they had and look at how they ended up. I feel bad for the Knights and what they're going through but apart of their issue is their inability to develop talent. Thank god Nathan Brown is addressing that and I truly hope he can build a future on Lamb, Cogger, Mata'utia, the Saifitis, King, Levi, Denniss, Butterfield, Taunoa-Brown etc.

Can you believe they signed Stockwell on 325K? Ridiculous. I'm sure that's Bennett's fault as well. Just like the Pangai Jr to Brisbane was his fault and I couldn't be more grateful. I was worried about the initial teething problems and having to work his way up to gain his footing but he's really made the most of it. He took his Round 1 NYC appearance in his stride and by Round 3 was the focal point of the attack. They pushed him up and when the opportunity arose, he came off the bench and went out there and made a genuine impact. I'm super stoked to have him on board and I think he's going to be one of the break-out players of 2017. Hell, I think he's going to have a very promising 2016. I think in 5 years time, we're going to look back at this squad and be like 'Oh wow, TPJ, Su'A, Arrow, Nikorima, Ese'ese, Ofahengaue etc. coming through? No wonder we had such a great side' and I truly believe that.

 

[ningnangnong]

Not often you hear WB talk about a young bloke with such esteem.

 

[Alec]

Canberra got Tapine, who's probably a better short term signing, as he's a regular quality first grader right now. TPJ is probbly the better prospect though, but there's always a chance of these players leaving after making the big time.

 

[talanoa]

great post alec.
the fear for me with tpj is a gun for hire type player, and i dont be grudge that at all as these guys have a limited earning capacity for top grade footy.
i could well be wrong but i reckon we may end up seeing this lad on espn playing the 15 man code and earning a motza

 

[broncos4life]

great post alec.
the fear for me with tpj is a gun for hire type player, and i dont be grudge that at all as these guys have a limited earning capacity for top grade footy.
i could well be wrong but i reckon we may end up seeing this lad on espn playing the 15 man code and earning a motza

Nothing about his actions so far have suggested this. 'Guns for hire' don't tend to call up coaches asking to play for and be developed by them... Not the greatest bargaining position.

 

[talanoa]

Nothing about his actions so far have suggested this. 'Guns for hire' don't tend to call up coaches asking to play for and be developed by them... Not the greatest bargaining position.

so do you actually think that this all just suddenly happened and was a stroke of good fortune that he landed at red hill??
do you think he would have left canberra and came to us on less money?

 

[K-Style]

How many stolen items phone the thief to take them away?

TPJ is a young gun from what I've seen so far and more likely to provide what Brisbane are missing and Canberra already have in spades. (Papalli, Leilua and Boyd).

 

[lionred]

Agree TPJ is needed in this team and i think for 2016 if he keeps doing what he is. Only criticism I have is his fitness but it will come. Last week in particular there were multiple times he was struggling to get back into position and he played about 30 or so minutes. However what he brings off the bench is better than what anyone else is bringing for the last two weeks. But definitely a prop for now as his minutes can be limited to produce the impact. As a lock you really need to be able to play bigger minutes if needed and keep that intensity going. Doesnt sound like Wayne stole him, more like TPJ ran away!

 

[broncos4life]

so do you actually think that this all just suddenly happened and was a stroke of good fortune that he landed at red hill??
do you think he would have left canberra and came to us on less money?

Well according to the article he contacted Bennett, I have no idea what he is being paid but it doesn't seem like that approach would net some big pay increase, especially when you were yet to play a first grade game.

At no point did I say 'this just happened', he sought Bennett out so it obviously didn't just happen. I also don't know what your point is.

 

[mitch222]

I don't think Canberra are in a position to whinge and bitch these days about clubs poaching their talent especially when they have got Austin, Sezer, Tapine, & Paulo in recent seasons (the later of them early from their contracts too)

 

[austin71]

I don't think Canberra are in a position to whinge and bitch these days about clubs poaching their talent especially when they have got Austin, Sezer, Tapine, & Paulo in recent seasons (the later of them early from their contracts too)

Baptise...