NEWS TPJ: some of us are looking at the stars

[Broncapz]

A firing TPJ is freekin awesome, and the kind of player Brisbane needs. He has the potential to be a long term fan favourite forward...he just needs to leave it out on the field, and stay on the field.

 

[McHunt]

I bid him to be one of the greats.

Checks out

 

[winslow_wong]

Tevita Pangai Junior has finished his stint breaking rocks in the hot sun, ready to face Wynnum Manly this Friday night:

“It was a tough time, but I learnt a lot. It has made me grateful. I worked at a plant nursery. I was doing heaps of stock moving, out in the sun a lot and digging up a lot of soil. It was bloody hot in the green rooms, but I took it all as a positive experience. I made about $760 a week, it was well down on my Broncos pay. My Broncos salary helps pay for my family’s mortgage so I had to dip into my savings, but to have it (his NRL wage) taken away from me was definitely a reality check and I’m glad I learnt my lesson. The pay wasn’t so great but I was grateful that I got to learn what everyday people do and it was a wake-up call for how lucky we are as NRL players."

“I have been pretty blessed in my life. I actually left high school early to go into an NRL system, I have never had a 9-to-5 job, so it was an eye opener. It was tough work. I would get up at 4am to train, then I was at work for eight hours and training again in the afternoon. It was very humbling.”

“I don’t want to blow it all. I know the player I can be. I thought I was going to get punted."

View attachment 11386
All out of bubblegum

“The Broncos actually gave me permission to negotiate, I was pretty much resigned to leaving. But my dad is a big Broncos fan and he didn’t want me to go, then when ’Kevvie’ (Kevin Walters) got the (coaching) job, he called me and said he didn’t want to lose me. He said he was looking forward to working with me and that meant a lot to me."

“This has given me a chance to self-reflect on the period I have had. This is my sixth year in the NRL now so eventually the penny has to drop. If you take your eye off the prize and what’s important, you pay the price, so I need to get back to what’s important. It was pretty daunting to front the board. I had to admit I did the wrong thing and I asked them for a second chance."

“I just feel like it‘s my last chance before I miss the bus. I remember seeing an interview with Roger Federer (tennis legend) and he was saying it’s easy to miss the bus when you are young and have all the talent, but don’t put in the hard work. I‘ve been watching the tennis and I watch someone like Ash Barty and the way she carries herself. She keeps her cool and is very balanced mentally. That’s the way I need to be."

“I played my last game at 121kg which was way too big for me, but I‘m down to 114kg, which is my playing weight when I play my best footy. I have watched what I ate and taken up some distance running. I did some boxing training and was running six or 10km so I‘m a lot fitter than I was last year. I can’t wait to get back playing again. It’s time to pay back the Broncos and their fans this year. I have made some mistakes and I want to change how I am perceived."

“I have to make the right choices now ... simple as that.”

McHunt

Ash Barty was killing it to start the match. Opposition took a break and then Barty crumbled to pieces. Sounds like Barty studied the broncos of 2020

 

[Foordy]

TPJ says Civoniceva, Parker (and SBW) reached out to him after his trouble last year and helped pull him out of a mental rut:

TPJ says:

“(Petero and I) had a few chats together and he’s been giving me a few tips,” Pangai Jr said.

“He’s been one of the most consistent front rowers in the game and I want to get my game to where he was playing at.

“Corey (Parker) helped me out a bit (and) Sonny Bill reached out to me too.

“A lot of good guys in the game looked after me and gave me advice to get me over that rut that I was in.”

Petero Says:

“There’s no doubt of the talent that Tevita possesses,” Civoniceva said.

“He’s come back in good shape and become a real leader in the off season, particularly for the young players who look up to him.”

“Life is the best teacher for us,” he said.

“It’s about how you learn and how you respond from (your mistakes).

“The way Tevita acknowledged it was a real big learning curve for all of our players.

“There’s more to the game then just us on the football field.

“It’s about the supporters and sponsors who commit a lot to this football club.

“This has been an opportunity to understand that commitment and the responsibility we have as players to uphold that.”

 

[Thelmus]

I hope someone is also working on a few others. If what I read about staggs is true, he could definitely use a similar experience.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

He wasn't fat, he was huge with muscle mass by the looks of photos.

This is the BS with the midseason rule change. Over the last 2-3 years the Broncos built up the size of the pack via recruitment and training then BAM! With a flick of a switch the NRL change the rules to make a big pack a massive disadvantage.

I would not be surprised, honestly, if say teams the Broncos are top of the table in some miracle and teams like the titans, roosters and souffs are struggling then there is some rule change midseason that "needed to happen" to either slow or speed up the ruck for no apparent reason. People forget that in, I think it was 2019, when roosters won the premiership the NRL had a massive crack down on ruck infringements for a few rounds. The roosters and the storm REALLY struggled. Suddenly, despite it working, "the fans had enough" (I didn't speak to one fan that was against The crackdown btw) and the crackdown and rule interpretations stopped/changed. Who made the gf that year? Haha What a joke. There's not many, if any, sporting bodies that have such a massive say in who makes their gf the way the NRL does. Medical retirements, no fault stand down, no criteria for length of suspension or salary cap compensation for off field indiscretions by players, sometimes allowing replacement for injury lists and sometimes not, mid season rule changes and crack downs, "inconsistent" judiciary findings. Wake up people, the NRL has more say in the premiers then our memberships or support for our team will ever allow, and that is fucking disgusting. Scrap the salary cap, stop changing rules unless there's a 2 year run up, put some queenslanders and kiwis on the MRC and "allow" other teams to play our crappy Thursday and Friday night slots ffs..

Way off topic rant but.... meh....

Melbourne have done well with the biggest pack in the game son[emoji2369]